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inviolability

 - 3 dictionary results

in⋅vi⋅o⋅la⋅ble

  [in-vahy-uh-luh-buhl]
Use inviolability in a Sentence
–adjective
1. prohibiting violation; secure from destruction, violence, infringement, or desecration: an inviolable sanctuary; an inviolable promise.
2. incapable of being violated; incorruptible; unassailable: inviolable secrecy.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L inviolābilis. See in- 3 , violable

Related forms:
in⋅vi⋅o⋅la⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, in⋅vi⋅o⋅la⋅ble⋅ness, noun
in⋅vi⋅o⋅la⋅bly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To inviolability
in·vi·o·la·ble   (ĭn-vī'ə-lə-bəl)   
adj.  

  1. Secure from violation or profanation: an inviolable reliquary deep beneath the altar.

  2. Impregnable to assault or trespass; invincible: fortifications that made the frontier inviolable.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin inviolābilis : in-, not; see in-1 + violāre, to violate; see violate.]
in·vi'o·la·bil'i·ty, in·vi'o·la·ble·ness n., in·vi'o·la·bly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

inviolable 
1530, from L. inviolabilis "invulnerable," from in- "not" + violabilis, from violare "to do violence to" (see violation). The adj. inviolate "unbroken, intact" is attested from 1412.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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