Etymograph

English

inexorable

Inexorable comes from Latin inexōrābilis ‘relentless, inexorable’, from exōrābilis ‘that may be moved or persuaded by entreaty’, and ultimately from ōrō ‘beg’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEōrō1‘beg’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexōrō2‘to persuade or win over’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexōrābilis3‘that may be moved or persuaded by entreaty’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinexōrābilis3‘relentless, inexorable’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600inexorable3
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1592inexorable3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin exoro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin exorabilis
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English inexorable
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1592, Thomas Nashe: “[…] but inexorable yron detaines him in the dungeon…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEōrōWiktionary, Latin exoro‘beg’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexōrōWiktionary, Latin exorabilis‘to persuade or win over’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexōrābilisWiktionary, English inexorable‘that may be moved or persuaded by entreaty’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinexōrābilisWiktionary, English inexorable‘relentless, inexorable’
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600inexorableWiktionary, English inexorable
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1592inexorableWiktionary, English inexorable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1592, Thomas Nashe: “[…] but inexorable yron detaines him in the dungeon…”

Equivalent to in- + exorable

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

Proto-Germanic *in ‘into’

English in-

Latin ōrō ‘beg’

Latin exōrō ‘to persuade or win over’

Latin exorabilis ‘exorable, persuadable’

English exorable

The story

Exōrābilis is derived from exōrāre (from exōrō (‘to persuade, win over; to beg, entreat, plead’), from ex- (prefix meaning ‘out of’) + ōrō (‘to beg, entreat, plead, pray; to deliver a speech, orate’), from ōs (‘mouth’), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃éh₁os (‘mouth’)) + -bilis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Latin ōrō ‘beg’

prose, oracle, orator, oration, 11 more

Today it means

adj Impossible to prevent or stop; inevitable.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “inexorable”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin exoro, Latin exorabilis. 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 / Latin ōrō / inexorable

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