English
irresolution
Irresolution may come from Middle French irresolution.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600irresolutionuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1796same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600irresolutionuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1796same form
Earliest quotation: 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk: “Again he paced the chamber; but an involuntary movement…”
Equivalent to ir- + resolution
Latin solvō ‘to loosen, untie’
Latin resolvō ‘to release, loosen’
Latin resolūtiō ‘untying, loosening’
Middle English resolucioun ‘dissolution’
English resolution
The story
Probably from Middle French irresolution (modern French irrésolution), from ir- + resolution (‘resolution’); compare Italian irresoluzione.
Every English word from Middle French irresolution
Today it means
noun Lack of resolution; lack of decision or purpose; vacillation.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French irresolution / irresolution