incorrigible

English

WOTD – 10 April 2016

Etymology

From Middle English incorrigible, from Middle French incorrigible (1334), or directly from Latin incorrigibilis (“not to be corrected”), from in- (“not”) +‎ corrigere (“to correct”) +‎ -ibilis (“-able”), equivalent to in- +‎ corrigible. Recorded since 1340.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈkɒɹɪdʒəb(ə)l/, /ɪnˈkɒɹɪdʒɪb(ə)l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈkɔɹɪd͡ʒəb(ə)l/, /ɪnˈkɔɹəd͡ʒəb(ə)l/

• Audio (Australian):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: in‧cor‧ri‧gi‧ble

Adjective

incorrigible (not comparable)

1. Defective and impossible to materially correct or set aright.

   The construction flaw is incorrigible; any attempt to amend it would cause a complete collapse.

2. Unmanageable; impervious to correction by punishment or pain.

   an incorrigible youth

3. Incurably depraved; not reformable.

   His dark soul was too incorrigible to repent, even at his execution.

4. Unchangeably established in a belief or habit.
   • 2006 December 7, Michael White, “Breaking up is hard to do, even at the Treasury”, in The Guardian‎^[1], London:

     Gordon Brown may have his grumpy, Granita moments, but as a strategist he is an incorrigible optimist.

5. (philosophy, of a proposition or belief) Intrinsically incapable of being corrected; impossible to disprove, by its very nature.

   The statement "My knee hurts" is incorrigible.

6. (archaic, of a disease) Impossible to cure.
   • 1859, The British Journal of Psychiatry, volume 6, page 312:

     It may appear as an epidemic, as a hereditary complaint, or as an obstinate and incorrigible disease again and again recurring.

Synonyms

• (impossible to materially correct): irreparable, uncorrectable
• (depraved): irredeemable, unreformable, reprobate
• (established in a belief or habit): determined, dyed-in-the-wool, hopeless, incurable, unalterable
• (intrinsically uncorrectable): axiomatic, unfalsifiable
• (archaic, of a disease): incurable

Antonyms

• corrigible
• correctable

Derived terms

• incorrigibility
• incorrigibleness
• incorrigibly

Related terms

• incorrect

Translations

defective and materially impossible to correct or set aright

• Bulgarian: непоправим (bg) (nepopravim)
• Dutch: onverbeterbaar, onherstelbaar (nl)
• German: unverbesserbar (de)
• Macedonian: непоправлив (nepopravliv)
• Māori: ngākau totoa
• Portuguese: incorrigível (pt)
• Russian: неисправи́мый (ru) (neispravímyj)
• Spanish: incorregible (es)

incurably depraved

• Arabic: عَنِيد (ʕanīd)
• Danish: uforbederlig
• Dutch: onverbeterlijk (nl)
• Esperanto: nekorektebla
• Galician: incorrixible (gl)
• German: unverbesserlich (de)
• Igbo: mmekwata
• Middle English: incorrigible
• Portuguese: incorrigível (pt)
• Shona: kuchinja
• Slovak: nenapraviteľný
• Spanish: empecatado
• Swedish: oförbätterlig (sv)
• Welsh: anniwygiadwy

impervious to correction by punishment or pain

• Bulgarian: непоправим (bg) (nepopravim)
• Dutch: onverbeterlijk (nl)
• Finnish: auttamaton (fi)
• German: unverbesserlich (de)
• Macedonian: непоправлив (nepopravliv)
• Portuguese: incorrigível (pt)
• Spanish: incorregible (es)

unmanageable — see unmanageable

determined, unalterable

• Dutch: onverbeterbaar, onveranderlijk (nl)
• German: unverbesserlich (de)
• Māori: ngākau totoa
• Spanish: incorregible (es)

incurable

• Bulgarian: неизлечим (bg) (neizlečim)
• Macedonian: неизлечив (neizlečiv)
• Russian: неизлечи́мый (ru) (neizlečímyj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} incorrigible (fr)

Noun

incorrigible (plural incorrigibles)

1. An incorrigibly bad person.

   The incorrigibles in the prison population are either lifers or habitual reoffenders.

Translations

an incorrigibly bad individual

• Dutch: onverbeterlijke (nl) m
• French: incorrigible (fr) m or f
• Macedonian: непоправник m (nepopravnik)
• Māori: ngākau totoa

French

Etymology

Recorded since 1334 as Middle French incorrigible, from Latin incorrigibilis (“not to be corrected”). Morphologically, from in- +‎ corrigible.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.kɔ.ʁi.ʒibl/

Adjective

incorrigible (plural incorrigibles)

1. incorrigible

   Synonyms: indécrottable, irrécupérable

   Antonyms: corrigible, corrigeable

Derived terms

• incorrigiblement

Related terms

• corriger

Noun

incorrigible m (plural incorrigibles)

1. an incorrigible

Further reading

• “incorrigible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Middle English

Alternative forms

• incorigeble, incorrigibil, incorygibile, incorigibyll

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French incorrigible, from Latin incorrigibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inˌkɔriˈdʒiːbəl/, /inˈkɔridʒibəl/

Adjective

incorrigible (Late Middle English)

1. insoluble, unmanageable
2. irredeemable, not reformable

Descendants

• English: incorrigible

References

• “incorriǧī̆ble, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Middle French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin incorrigibilis.

Adjective

incorrigible m or f (plural incorrigibles)

1. unpunished

   Pource que nous ne vouloiens mie que telz fais demourast incorrigibles […]

   Because we don't want such deeds to go unpunished

Descendants

• → Middle English: incorrigible, incorigeble, incorrigibil, incorygibile, incorigibyll
  • English: incorrigible
• French: incorrigible

References

• Frédéric Godefroy (1880–1902), “incorrigible”, in Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle […], Paris: F[riedrich] Vieweg; Émile Bouillon, →OCLC.