Etymograph

English

invalid

From in- + valid.

A compound of in- + valid

Proto-Indo-European *h₁én ‘in’

Proto-Germanic *in ‘into’

English in-

Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- ‘to be strong’

Latin valeō ‘to be strong’

Latin validus ‘strong’

Middle French valide ‘healthy, sound’

English valid

Another origin of invalid

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂welh₁-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂wl̥h₁éh₁yetireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*walēō‘to be strong’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvaleō‘to have strength, influence, power’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvalidus‘strong’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinvalidus‘infirm, weak’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600invalide
  8. Englishtodayinvalid

Today it means

adj Not valid; not true, correct, acceptable, or appropriate.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “invalid”. 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 / invalid

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