inexpedient
UK[ˌɪnɪkˈspiːdiənt]US[ˌɪnɪkˈspiːdiənt]
adj
Not suitable or advisable in a particular situation; not convenient or practical.
Morpheme Breakdown
in
ex
pedient
in
not
ex
out
pedient
foot/going
Etymology
The word 'inexpedient' is built from Latin components. The core idea comes from expedire, meaning literally "to free the feet" (from ex- "out" + pes "foot"), which evolved to mean "to make ready, to be advantageous". The prefix in- negates this, creating a sense of "not advantageous". The suffix -ient forms an adjective. Thus, the literal notion of being "not freed from entanglement" transformed into the modern abstract meaning of being unsuitable or inadvisable for a course of action.
Analysis
Structure: in (not) + ex (out) + pedient (foot/going)
- in: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "not".
- ex: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "out".
- pedient: Derived from Latin ped-, pes meaning "foot", and the suffix -ient indicating a state or quality. It relates to the concept of going or moving.
Examples
It would be inexpedient to announce the decision before the negotiations are complete.
The committee deemed the proposed course of action politically inexpedient.
He realized that further argument was inexpedient and chose to remain silent.