Word of the Day

: February 8, 2007

inviolable

adjective in-VYE-uh-luh-bul

What It Means

1 : secure from violation or profanation

2 : secure from assault or trespass : unassailable

inviolable in Context

"One can almost see him, grey-haired and serene in the inviolable shelter of his book-lined, faded, and comfortable study. . . ." (Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim)

Did You Know?

"Inviolable" is a venerable word that has been with us since the 15th century. Its opposite, "violable" ("capable of being or likely to be violated") appeared a century later. The English playwright Shackerley Marmion made good use of "violable" in A Fine Companion in 1633, writing, "Alas, my heart is Tender and violable with the least weapon Sorrow can dart at me." But English speakers have never warmed up to that word the way we have to "inviolable," and it continues to be used much less frequently. Both terms descend from Latin "violare," which both shares the meaning and is an ancestor of the English word "violate."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.