inalienable

See also: inaliénable

English

WOTD – 4 July 2009

Etymology

Borrowed around 1645 from French inaliénable, from in- + aliénable (“alienable”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈneɪ.lɪ.ə.nə.bəl/
• IPA^(key): /ɪˈneɪ.li.ə.nə.bəl/

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Adjective

inalienable (not comparable)

1. Incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred to another; not alienable.

   inalienable right a right that cannot be given away

2. (grammar) Of or pertaining to a noun belonging to a special class in which the possessive construction differs from the norm, especially for particular familial relationships and body parts.

Usage notes

While inalienable and unalienable are today used interchangeably (with inalienable the more common) the terms have historically sometimes been distinguished.

Synonyms

• unalienable

Antonyms

• (incapable of being alienated): alienable

Translations

incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred to another; not alienable

• Armenian: անօտարելի (hy) (anōtareli)
• Azerbaijani: ayrılmaz
• Bulgarian: непрехвърляем (neprehvǎrljaem)
• Catalan: inalienable (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不可转让的

• Czech: nezcizitelný (cs)
• Dutch: onvervreemdbaar (nl)
• Finnish: erottamaton (fi)
• French: inaliénable (fr)
• German: unabdingbar (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: αναφαίρετος (el) m (anafaíretos)
• Hebrew: שאין להעבירו לאחר (she'éin leha'aviró leakhér)
• Hungarian: elidegeníthetetlen (hu)
• Italian: inalienabile (it)
• Macedonian: нео́туѓив m (neótuǵiv)
• Polish: niezbywalny (pl)
• Portuguese: inalienável (pt)
• Russian: неотчужда́емый (ru) (neotčuždájemyj), неотъе́млемый (ru) (neotʺjémlemyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: do-dhealachaidh
• Spanish: inalienable (es)

grammar: of a noun class belonging to a special class

• Portuguese: inalienável (pt)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Scottish Gaelic: do-dhealaichte
• Swedish: oförytterlig

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Spanish

Adjective

inalienable m or f (masculine and feminine plural inalienables)

1. inalienable