indivisible

English

Etymology

PIE word
*dwóh₁

From Middle French indivisible, from Late Latin indivisibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɪndɪˈvɪzɪbəl/
• Rhymes: -ɪzɪbəl

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

Adjective

indivisible (not comparable)

1. Incapable of being divided; atomic.
   • 1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, John Dryden, transl., De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], →OCLC:

     one indivisible point of time

   • 2014 [June 13, 2013], Xi, Jinping, “Handle Cross-Straits Relations in the Overall Interests of the Chinese Nation”, in The Governance of China‎^[1], volume I, Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages [2]:

     Although the mainland and Taiwan are yet to be reunited, they belong to one and same China, which is an indivisible whole.

2. (arithmetic) Incapable of being divided by a specific integer without leaving a remainder.

Synonyms

• unsplittable

Antonyms

• (incapable of being divided; arithmetic): divisible
• (incapable of being combined): incombinable, uncombinable, unmergeable, ununifiable

Related terms

• indivision
• indivisibility
• indivisibleness
• indivisibly
• individual

Translations

incapable of being divided

• Bulgarian: неделим (bg) (nedelim)
• Catalan: indivisible (ca)
• Dutch: ondeelbaar (nl)
• Finnish: jakamaton (fi)
• German: unteilbar (de)
• Greek: αδιαίρετος (el) (adiaíretos)

  Ancient: ἀμέριστος (améristos), ἀμερής (amerḗs)

• Hungarian: oszthatatlan (hu)
• Icelandic: ódeilanlegur (is) m
• Irish: doroinnte
• Japanese: 分割できない (ja) (bunkatsu dekinai), 分けられない (ja) (wakerarenai), 割れない (ja) (warenai) 不可分の (ja) (fukabun no)
• Khmer: អវិភាគីយ (a’vi’pʰiekii)
• Portuguese: indivisível (pt)
• Russian: недели́мый (ru) (nedelímyj), нераздели́мый (ru) (nerazdelímyj), неразложи́мый (ru) (nerazložímyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: do-roinn
• Spanish: indivisible
• Swedish: odelbar (sv)
• Welsh: diwahân, anwahanadwy (cy)

incapable of being divided by a specific integer

• Finnish: jaoton
• German: unteilbar (de)
• Hungarian: nem osztható
• Icelandic: ódeilanlegur (is) m
• Japanese: 割り切れない (warikirenai)
• Polish: niepodzielny (pl)
• Russian: недели́мый (ru) (nedelímyj)
• Swedish: odelbar (sv)

Noun

indivisible (plural indivisibles)

1. That which cannot be divided or split.
   • 1644, Kenelm Digby, Two Treatises

     By atom, nobody will imagine we intend to express a perfect indivisible, but only the least sort of natural bodies.

   • 1661, Joseph Glanvill, chapter V, in The Vanity of Dogmatizing: Or Confidence in Opinions. […], London: […] E. C. for Henry Eversden […], →OCLC; reprinted in The Vanity of Dogmatizing […] (Series III: Philosophy; 6), New York, N.Y.: For the Facsimile Text Society by Columbia University Press, 1931, →OCLC, page 53:

     The compoſition of Bodies, whether it be of Diviſibles or Indiviſibles, is a queſtion which must be rank'd with the Indiſſolvibles: For though it hath been attempted by the moſt illuſtrious Wits of all Philoſophick Ages; yet they have done little elſe, but ſhewn their own diviſions to be almoſt as infinite, as ſome ſuppoſe thoſe of their Subject.

2. (geometry) An infinitely small quantity which is assumed to admit of no further division.

Derived terms

• method of indivisibles

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.di.vi.zibl/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

indivisible (plural indivisibles)

1. indivisible

   Antonyms: divisible, incombinable

Further reading

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

Middle French

Adjective

indivisible m or f (plural indivisibles)

1. indivisible

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /indibiˈsible/ [ĩn̪.d̪i.β̞iˈsi.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -ible
• Syllabification: in‧di‧vi‧si‧ble

Adjective

indivisible (plural indivisibles)

1. indivisible

   Antonyms: divisible, incombinable

Further reading

• “indivisible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014