Etymograph

English

invisibility

Invisibility comes from Latin invisibilis ‘unseen, invisible’, from vīsibilis ‘that may be seen, visible’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-1‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*widéh₁yeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*widēō1‘to see’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvideō1‘to see, perceive’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīsibilis1‘that may be seen, visible’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinvisibilis1‘unseen, invisible’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinvisibilitas2
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600invisibilité2
  9. Englishtodayinvisibility2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin invisibilitas
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English invisibility

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-Wiktionary, Latin invisibilitas‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*widéh₁yetiWiktionary, Latin invisibilitasreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*widēōWiktionary, Latin invisibilitas‘to see’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvideōWiktionary, Latin invisibilitas‘to see, perceive’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīsibilisWiktionary, Latin invisibilitas‘that may be seen, visible’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinvisibilisWiktionary, Latin invisibilitas‘unseen, invisible’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinvisibilitasWiktionary, English invisibility
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600invisibilitéWiktionary, English invisibility
  9. EnglishtodayinvisibilityWiktionary, English invisibility

Linked words

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

story, guy, idea, guide, advice, witness, historic, wise, wisdom, idol, wizard, advise, wit, historian, steroid, guise, tabloid, witty, revue, druid, envious, visitation, improvise, envision, hypothyroidism, twit, avis, idyll, parathyroid, trapezoid, witter, hyoid, hyperthyroidism, colloid, weet, thyroxine, sigmoid, thyroiditis, visite, 92 more

through Proto-Indo-European *widéh₁yeti

providential, 14 more

through Proto-Italic *widēō ‘to see’

provision, providence, revision, prudential, jurisprudence, provident, vada, evidential, 16 more

through Latin videō ‘to see, perceive’

video, provide, evidence, review, interview, visit, vision, evident, visa, prudent, vista, revise, prudence, vide, purview, voyeur, purveyor, proviso, invidious, 19 more

through Latin vīsibilis ‘that may be seen, visible’

visible, 2 more

Today it means

noun The state of being invisible.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “invisibility”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin invisibilitas. 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 *weyd- / invisibility

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