Infallibility
/ɪnˌfæl.əˈbɪl.ə.ti/noun
The quality of being incapable of making a mistake or being wrong.
Did you know?Infallibility became especially charged in religious history through the 19th-century doctrine of papal infallibility, formally defined by the Catholic Church in 1870.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Latin
Latin
fallere
“To deceive, disappoint, or fail”
Late Latin
Latin
fallibilis
“Liable to deceive or be mistaken”
Medieval Latin
Latin
infallibilis
“Not liable to deceive or err”
Medieval Latin
Latin
infallibilitas
“The quality of being incapable of error”
15th Century
English
infallible
“Incapable of error or failure”
16th Century onward
English
infallibility
“The state or quality of being infallible”