unaffordable
Meaning
too expensive to be afforded by most people; beyond one's financial means.
Structure
Usage
the rising cost of housing in the city has made it unaffordable for many young families.
healthcare should be a basic right, not an unaffordable luxury.
for a small startup, such advanced software was simply unaffordable.
Etymology
The word "unaffordable" is a Modern English formation built upon the well-established adjective "affordable." The root "afford" has a long history, tracing back to the Old English geforthian, meaning "to carry out, accomplish," which evolved to signify having the financial means for something. The suffix "-able," borrowed from Latin via French, attaches to verbs to denote capability. Finally, the Old English negative prefix "un-" is applied, creating a straightforward and logical compound meaning "not capable of being afforded." This construction follows a common pattern in English for creating negative adjectives and precisely conveys the concept of financial inaccessibility.
Analysis
- un: a prefix of germanic origin (old english un-), meaning "not," used to give a word a negative or opposite force. - afford: a verb of english origin, from middle english aforthien, meaning "to provide, manage, bear the cost." its core sense relates to having the means for something. - able: a suffix of latin origin (via old french -able), meaning "capable of, fit for," used to form adjectives from verbs.