Etymograph

English

incurable

Incurable comes from Late Latin incurabilis, from Latin cūrō ‘heal, cure’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- ‘to see’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-1‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizā1‘care’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūra1
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūrō1‘heal, cure’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEincurabilis2
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400incurable2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1854incurable2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin incurabilis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English incurable
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1854, James Stephen: “They were labouring under a profound, and, as it…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷeys-Wiktionary, Latin incurabilis‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷoizāWiktionary, Latin incurabilis‘care’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūraWiktionary, Latin incurabilis
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcūrōWiktionary, Latin incurabilis‘heal, cure’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEincurabilisWiktionary, English incurable
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400incurableWiktionary, English incurable
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1854incurableWiktionary, English incurable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1854, James Stephen: “They were labouring under a profound, and, as it…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- ‘to see’

shire, curate, 4 more

through Proto-Italic *kʷoizā ‘care’

ensure, assure, insure, 4 more

through Latin cūra

sure, security, secure, procurement, curator, sicker, manicure, 8 more

through Latin cūrō ‘heal, cure’

accurate, cure, proxy, procurator, curation, 5 more

Today it means

adj Of an illness, condition, etc, that is unable to be cured; healless.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “incurable”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin incurabilis. 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 *kʷeys- / incurable

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