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Origin and history of intangible

intangible(adj.)

1630s, "incapable of being touched," from French intangible (c. 1500) or directly from Medieval Latin intangibilis, from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + Late Latin tangibilis "that may be touched" (see tangible). Figurative sense of "that cannot be grasped by the mind" is from 1880. Noun meaning "anything intangible" is from 1909. Related: Intangibly.

also from 1630s

Entries linking to intangible

tangible(adj.)

1580s, "capable of being touched," from French tangible and directly from Late Latin tangibilis "that may be touched," from Latin tangere "to touch" (from PIE root *tag- "to touch, handle").

The sense of "material, capable of being possessed" (as in tangible reward) is recorded by 1610s; that of "able to be realized or dealt with" is from 1709. Related: Tangibly; tangibleness; tangibility. As a noun, "a tactile sensation or object," by 1890.

in-(1)

word-forming element meaning "not, opposite of, without" (also im-, il-, ir- by assimilation of -n- with following consonant, a tendency which began in later Latin), from Latin in- "not," cognate with Greek an-, Old English un-, all from PIE root *ne- "not."

In Old French and Middle English often en-, but most of these forms have not survived in Modern English, and the few that do (enemy, for instance) no longer are felt as negative. The rule of thumb in English has been to use in- with obviously Latin elements, un- with native or nativized ones.

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    ragtime
    [Rupert Hughes, Boston Musical Record, April 1900] Conceive the futility of trying to reduce the intangible ragness to...
    assets
    1530s, "sufficient estate," from Anglo-French assetz, asetz (singular), from Old French assez "sufficiency, satisfaction; compensation" (11c.), noun use of adverb meaning "enough, sufficiently; very much, a great deal," from Vulgar Latin *ad satis "to sufficiency," from Latin ad
    bail
    "bond money, security given to obtain the release of a prisoner," late 15c., a sense that apparently developed from that of "temporary release (of an arrested person) from jail" (into the custody of another, who gives security for future appearance at trial), which is recorded fr
    shoe
    Middle English sho, "low-cut covering for the human foot," from Old English scoh, from Proto-Germanic *skokhaz (source also of Old Norse skor, Danish and Swedish sko, Old Frisian skoch, Old Saxon skoh, Middle Dutch scoe, Dutch schoen, Old High German scuoh, German Schuh, Gothic s
    bureaucracy
    "government by bureaus," especially "tyrannical officialdom," excessive multiplication of administrative bureaus and concentration of power in them, in reference to their tendency to interfere in private matters and be inefficient and inflexible, 1818, from French bureaucratie, c
    fact
    1530s, "action, a thing performed, anything done, a deed," good or evil but in 16c.-17c. commonly "evil deed, crime;" from Latin factum "an event, occurrence, deed, achievement," in Medieval Latin also "state, condition, circumstance" (source also of Old French fait, Spanish hech
    James
    masc. proper name, New Testament name of two of Christ's disciples, late 12c. Middle English vernacular form of Late Latin Jacomus (source of Old French James, Spanish Jaime, Italian Giacomo), altered from Latin Jacobus (see Jacob). The Welsh form was Iago, the Cornish Jago. Jame
    Friday
    sixth day of the week, Old English frigedæg "Friday, Frigga's day," from Frige, genitive of *Frigu (see Frigg), Germanic goddess of married love. The day name is a West Germanic translation of Latin dies Veneris "day of (the planet) Venus," which itself translated Greek Aphrodite
    represent
    late 14c., representen, "show, display, express; bring to mind by description," also "to symbolize, serve as a sign or symbol of (something else, something abstract); serve as the type or embodiment of;" also be a representative of" (the authority of another). This is from Old Fr
    cripple
    Old English crypel, "one who creeps, halts, or limps, one partly or wholly deprived of the use of one or more limbs," related to cryppan "to crook, bend," from Proto-Germanic *krupilaz (source also of Old Frisian kreppel, Middle Dutch cropel, German krüppel, Old Norse kryppill).

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