Etymograph

English

irrefutable

Irrefutable comes from Late Latin irrefūtābilis, from Latin refūtābilis ‘refutable’, and ultimately from *futo ‘to beat’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*futo‘to beat’reconstructed
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErefūtō‘to refute’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErefūtābilis‘refutable’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEirrefūtābilis
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1653irrefutable

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*futo‘to beat’reconstructed
  2. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErefūtō‘to refute’
  3. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErefūtābilis‘refutable’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEirrefūtābilis
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1653irrefutable

Earliest quotation: 1653, Henry More, An Antidote against Atheisme: “[…]clear and irrefutable evidence of the Cause I have…”

Linked words

through Latin refūtō ‘to refute’

refute, refutation

Today it means

adj undeniable; unable to be disproved or refuted

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin *futo / irrefutable

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