inestimable

English

Alternative forms

• inæstimable (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle French inestimable, from Latin inaestimābilis, from in (“un-”, “not”) + aestimābilis (“estimable”). Equivalent to in- +‎ estimable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈnɛːs.tɪ.mə.bəl/
• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ĭnĕsʹtĭməbl, IPA^(key): /ɪnˈɛstɪməbl/

Adjective

inestimable (not comparable)

1. Not able to be estimated; not able to be calculated, computed or comprehended, as because of great scale, degree or magnitude.
   • 1776, United States Declaration of Independence:

     He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

   The Voyager spacecraft explored the solar system and continued into the inestimable space beyond.

2. Venerable, great.
   • 1789, The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 15:

     On my arrival hither I found a letter from the inestimable Mr. Wythe, by which he informs me that in consequence of a late act of our general assembly he remains the sole judge of the high court of chancery.

Translations

Not able to be estimated; not able to be calculated, computed or comprehended

• Finnish: mahdoton arvioida, mahdoton mitata

Venerable, great

• Czech: neocenitelný
• Finnish: kunnianarvoisa, verraton (fi)
• French: inappréciable (fr)
• German: unschätzbar (de)
• Latin: impretiabilis
• Swedish: ovärderlig (sv)

References

• “inestimable, a. (n.)” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2^nd Ed.; 1989]

French

Etymology

From in- +‎ estimer +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.nɛs.ti.mabl/

Adjective

inestimable (plural inestimables)

1. priceless, invaluable; inestimable

Further reading

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

Spanish

Adjective

inestimable (plural inestimables)

1. priceless, invaluable

Further reading

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