Etymograph

English

impunity

Impunity comes from Latin impunitas ‘impunity, freedom from punishment’, from in- -is ‘-less, without, lacking’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-1‘to pay’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷoynéh₂1‘payment’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoinā́2reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποινή1poinḗ‘blood money, wergeld’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoena1‘punishment’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEin- -is1‘-less, without, lacking’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpunis3‘without punishment’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpunitas3‘impunity, freedom from punishment’
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600impunité3
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1776impunity3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin impunis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ποινή
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English impunity
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1776, Edward Gibbon, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell: “Maternus, a private ſoldier, of a daring boldneſs above…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷey-Wiktionary, Latin impunis‘to pay’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷoynéh₂Wiktionary, Latin impunis‘payment’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kʷoinā́Wiktionary, Ancient Greek ποινήreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEποινήWiktionary, Latin impunispoinḗ‘blood money, wergeld’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpoenaWiktionary, Latin impunis‘punishment’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEin- -isWiktionary, Latin impunis‘-less, without, lacking’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpunisWiktionary, English impunity‘without punishment’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimpunitasWiktionary, English impunity‘impunity, freedom from punishment’
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600impunitéWiktionary, English impunity
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1776impunityWiktionary, English impunity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1776, Edward Gibbon, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell: “Maternus, a private ſoldier, of a daring boldneſs above…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- ‘to pay’

poetry, painful, poem, poet, titanium, painless, whey, onomatopoeia, 20 more

through Ancient Greek ποινή ‘blood money, wergeld’

penalty, subpoena, 4 more

through Latin poena ‘punishment’

pain, pine, punishment, penal, punish, punitive, 4 more

through Latin in- -is ‘-less, without, lacking’

inform, immune, insomnia, immunity, indemnity, 8 more

Today it means

noun Exemption from punishment.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “impunity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin impunis, Ancient Greek ποινή. 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 *kʷey- / impunity

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