English
impetrable
Impetrable comes from Latin impetrabilis ‘that which easily obtains or effects, successful’, from patrō ‘accomplish’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ‘to protect, to ward’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂-1‘to protect, to ward’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ph₂tḗr1‘father’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*patēr1‘father’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpater1‘father (male parent)’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpatrō1‘accomplish’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpetrō2‘to accomplish, succeed’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpetrabilis3‘that which easily obtains or effects, successful’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599impetrable3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin impetro
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin impetrabilis
- 3 Wiktionary, English impetrable
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, Thomas Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe: “Hovv impetrable hee vvas in mollyfying the adamantineſt tiranny…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂-Wiktionary, Latin impetro‘to protect, to ward’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ph₂tḗrWiktionary, Latin impetro‘father’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*patērWiktionary, Latin impetro‘father’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaterWiktionary, Latin impetro‘father (male parent)’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpatrōWiktionary, Latin impetro‘accomplish’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpetrōWiktionary, Latin impetrabilis‘to accomplish, succeed’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpetrabilisWiktionary, English impetrable‘that which easily obtains or effects, successful’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599impetrableWiktionary, English impetrable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1599, Thomas Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe: “Hovv impetrable hee vvas in mollyfying the adamantineſt tiranny…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ‘to protect, to ward’
company, food, pain, feed, foster, apparent, pope, pastor, fur, companion, papal, fodder, pasture, fad, penetration, accompaniment, forage, panini, fatherly, patrician, pav, pantaloons, pannier, 55 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr ‘father’
through Proto-Italic *patēr ‘father’
through Latin pater ‘father (male parent)’
pattern, papa, patron, paternal, paternity, padre, pater, patrimony, compere, 16 more
through Latin patrō ‘accomplish’
Today it means
adj Capable of being obtained or influenced by petition.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “impetrable”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin impetro, Latin impetrabilis. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- / impetrable