Incorrigible
/ɪnˈkɒr.ɪ.dʒə.bəl/noun
Impossible or very difficult to change, improve, or reform.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from Latin *corrigere*, “to straighten out, set right,” so *incorrigible* is basically “not straighten-able,” a perfect example of how language turns moral judgment into a kind of verbal spell.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
incorrigibilis
“not able to be corrected or amended”
Latin
Latin
corrigere
“to straighten, set right, amend”
Latin
Latin
com- + regere
“to straighten together; to guide, direct, rule”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₃reǵ-
“to straighten, direct, make right”
14th Century
Middle English
incorrigible
“not reformable; beyond correction”
Modern English
English
incorrigible
“stubbornly impossible to reform or improve”