English
impossibility
Impossibility comes from Latin impossibilis ‘impossible’, from possibilis ‘possible’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-1‘to be, become, grow, appear’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰúHt1‘to become’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*som1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*possom1reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpossum2‘to can’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpossibilis2‘possible’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpossibilis2‘impossible’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpossibilitās3
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600impossibilité3
- Englishearliest quotation 1562impossibility3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin possum
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin impossibilitas
- 3 Wiktionary, English impossibility
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1562, Hugh Latimer, London: John Day: “Here by this petition whan we say, Leade vs…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-Wiktionary, Latin possum‘to be, become, grow, appear’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰúHtWiktionary, Latin possum‘to become’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*somWiktionary, Latin possumreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*possomWiktionary, Latin possumreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpossumWiktionary, Latin impossibilitas‘to can’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpossibilisWiktionary, Latin impossibilitas‘possible’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpossibilisWiktionary, Latin impossibilitas‘impossible’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpossibilitāsWiktionary, English impossibility
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600impossibilitéWiktionary, English impossibility
- Englishearliest quotation 1562impossibilityWiktionary, English impossibility. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1562, Hugh Latimer, London: John Day: “Here by this petition whan we say, Leade vs…”
Equivalent to im- + possibility
Proto-Indo-European *pótis ‘master’
…
Late Latin possibilitās
Old French possibilite
Middle French possibilité
Middle English possibilite ‘possibility’
English possibility
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’
be, been, future, build, physical, bond, represent, improve, bush, bound, presentation, contribution, booth, approve, physician, favorable, distribute, fiat, contributor, bun, favourable, probability, bouquet, retribution, attribution, absentee, rebuke, bower, imp, aren, absentia, beamer, phylogeny, bosque, phylum, physic, approbation, boor, futur, bist, 73 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰúHt ‘to become’
present, presence, essential, absence, absent, entity, bondage, busk, 15 more
through Proto-Italic *possom
through Latin possum ‘to can’
through Latin possibilis ‘possible’
Today it means
noun Something that is impossible.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “impossibility”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin possum, Latin impossibilitas. 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 *bʰuH- / impossibility