Inestimable
/ɪnˈɛstɪməbl/noun
Too valuable or excellent to be measured or estimated.
Did you know?In English, inestimable can mean either “too valuable to estimate” or, more rarely, “incapable of being estimated,” a classic example of a word whose negative prefix hides a positive, almost sacred sense of value.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
aestimābilis
“capable of being valued or estimated”
Late Latin
Latin
in-aestimābilis
“not to be valued; beyond price”
Old French
Old French
inestimable
“priceless; beyond estimation”
14th Century
English
inestimable
“too great to be measured or valued”
Modern English
English
inestimable
“too valuable or excellent to be measured or estimated”