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Origin and history of evitable

evitable(adj.)

c. 1500, from Latin evitabilis "avoidable," from evitare "to shun, avoid" (see inevitable). In modern use, likely a back-formation from inevitable.

also from c. 1500

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inevitable(adj.)

"unavoidable, admitting of no escape or evasion," mid-15c., from Latin inevitabilis "unavoidable," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + evitabilis "avoidable," from evitare "to avoid," from ex "out" (see ex-) + vitare "shun," originally "go out of the way." Of vitare, de Vaan writes that a connection with Latin invitus "unwilling" and vis "you want" "seems formally more probable to me. Semantically, we must then assume that *vitus was back-formed to *de-vitus 'avoiding'."

As a noun by 1850, "that which is sure to happen." Related: Inevitableness.

What darkness can protect me? what disguise?
Hide me from her inevitable eyes?
[Shakerley Marmion, "Cupid and Psyche," 1637]


unevitable(adj.)

"unavoidable," mid-15c., from un- (1) "not" + evitable. Now obsolete; the usual word is inevitable. Related: Unevitably.

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