Etymograph

English

irrevocable

Irrevocable comes from Latin irrevocabilis, from revocābilis ‘revocable’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wokʷ-1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvocō1‘to call, summon, beckon’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErevocō2‘to revoke, to withdraw’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErevocābilis3‘revocable’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEirrevocabilis4
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600irrévocable4
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600irrevocable4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin revoco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin revocabilis
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin irrevocabilis
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English irrevocable
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It: “Firm and irrevocable is my doom Which I have…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wokʷ-Wiktionary, Latin revocoreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvocōWiktionary, Latin revoco‘to call, summon, beckon’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErevocōWiktionary, Latin revocabilis‘to revoke, to withdraw’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErevocābilisWiktionary, Latin irrevocabilis‘revocable’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEirrevocabilisWiktionary, English irrevocable
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600irrévocableWiktionary, English irrevocable
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1598–1600irrevocableWiktionary, English irrevocable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It: “Firm and irrevocable is my doom Which I have…”

Formed from ir- + revoke + -able

Proto-Italic *wre- ‘again’

Latin revocare

Middle French révoquer

English revoke

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-

vocabulary, convocation, 22 more

through Latin vocō ‘to call, summon, beckon’

invite, invitation, advocate, provoke, vie, vocational, invoke, provocative, vouch, provocation, vocation, provocateur, 30 more

through Latin revocō ‘to revoke, to withdraw’

revocation, 2 more

Today it means

adj Unable to be retracted or reversed; final.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “irrevocable”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin revoco, Latin revocabilis, Latin irrevocabilis. 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 *wokʷ- / irrevocable

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