Etymograph

English

impregnable

Impregnable comes from Old French imprenable, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‘to find’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰed-1‘to find’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400imprenable1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500imprenable1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1664impregnable1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English impregnable
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1664, ; first published 1694, A Sermon Preached before the University, at Christ-Church, O: “[A]s for the Friendſhip of the World; […] he…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰed-Wiktionary, English impregnable‘to find’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400imprenableWiktionary, English impregnable
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500imprenableWiktionary, English impregnable
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1664impregnableWiktionary, English impregnable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1664, ; first published 1694, A Sermon Preached before the University, at Christ-Church, O: “[A]s for the Friendſhip of the World; […] he…”

The story

Prendre is derived from Latin prēndere, present active infinitive of prēndō, a variant of prehendō (‘to catch, lay hold of; to grasp; to grab, snatch; to seize, take’), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (‘to find; to hold; to seize, take’). The intrusive g in the English word was modelled after words like deign and reign.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- ‘to find’

yet, guess, prison, surprise, prize, comprehensive, prey, apprentice, predator, comprise, comprehend, comprehension, apprehension, apprehensive, apprehend, predation, reprieve, reprehensible, beget, impresario, prehensile, 32 more

Today it means

adj Of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks; impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “impregnable”. 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 *gʰed- / impregnable

Shirt and support for this word