Etymograph

English

incredible

Incredible comes from Latin incrēdibilis ‘unbelievable’, from in- ‘not’ + crēdibilis ‘worthy of belief’, from crēdō ‘to believe’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱréddʰeh₁ti1‘to place one's heart’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kresdō1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēdō1‘to believe’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēdibilis1‘credible, worthy of belief’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincrēdibilis1‘unbelievable, incredible’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500incredible1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1955incredible1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English incredible
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1955, A. W. Schorger, The Passenger Pigeon: Its Natural History and Extinction: “The extinction of a species once so numerous seemed…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱréddʰeh₁tiWiktionary, English incredible‘to place one's heart’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kresdōWiktionary, English incrediblereconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēdōWiktionary, English incredible‘to believe’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēdibilisWiktionary, English incredible‘credible, worthy of belief’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEincrēdibilisWiktionary, English incredible‘unbelievable, incredible’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500incredibleWiktionary, English incredible
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1955incredibleWiktionary, English incredible. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1955, A. W. Schorger, The Passenger Pigeon: Its Natural History and Extinction: “The extinction of a species once so numerous seemed…”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *krezðō ‘to believe’

credited, creditor, incredulity, accredit, 6 more

through Latin crēdō ‘believe’

credit, creed, credence, credo, incredulous, credulity, credulous, 10 more

through Latin crēdibilis ‘worthy of belief’

credibility, 2 more

Today it means

adj Too implausible to be credible; beyond belief.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “incredible”. 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 *ḱréddʰeh₁ti / incredible

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