unanswerable
Meaning
impossible to answer or refute
not capable of being disputed or denied
Structure
Usage
the philosopher posed an unanswerable question about the nature of existence.
the evidence they presented was unanswerable, leaving the opposition with no rebuttal.
she felt a surge of unanswerable grief upon hearing the tragic news.
Etymology
the word 'unanswerable' is a layered construction built upon the old english core 'answer'. the old english 'andswaru' itself is a compound of 'and-' (against) and 'swerian' (to swear), conveying the sense of a sworn statement given in return. the suffix '-able', entering english via old french from latin '-abilis', attaches to verbs to denote capability. the negative prefix 'un-', of germanic origin, is then applied to negate this capability. thus, the literal morphemic sequence "not + reply + capable of" logically evolved into the modern abstract meaning describing a question or argument so definitive that no adequate reply is possible.
Analysis
un- (old english, prefix expressing negation); answer (old english, from 'andswaru', meaning a reply or response); -able (latin via old french, suffix forming adjectives meaning 'capable of, fit for').