alienable

American  

[eyl-yuh-nuh-buhl, ey-lee-uh-] / ˈeɪl yə nə bəl, ˈeɪ li ə- /

adjective

Law.

1. capable of being sold or transferred.

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alienable British  

/ ˈeɪlɪə-, ˈeɪljənəbəl /

adjective

1. law (of property) transferable to another owner

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Usage

What does alienable mean? Yes, alienable is a word, but it’s rarely used. It means able to be sold or transferred. It’s opposite, inalienable, is much more common. Inalienable is used to describe things, especially rights, that cannot be taken away, denied, or transferred to another person. Inalienable means the same thing as unalienable, which is no longer in common use. However, unalienable is closely associated with the phrase unalienable rights due to its appearance in the U. S. Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”Thomas Jefferson actually used inalienable in early drafts of the Declaration of Independence, but the spelling was changed for the final draft. Unalienable was the preferred spelling until around the 1830s, but inalienable has completely replaced it in regular use. Example: We work to make the founders’ words true—that human rights are in no way alienable.

Other Word Forms

• alienability noun

Etymology

Origin of alienable

1605–15; < French, Middle French aliė́nable from aliė́ner “to sell, transfer” from Latin aliēnāre “to transfer by sale” ( alien ) + -able

Example Sentences

The first or lowest consisted of villains in gross, who were alienable at pleasure.

From Thoughts on the Necessity of Improving the Condition of the Slaves in the British Colonies With a View to Their Ultimate Emancipation; and on the Practicability, the Safety, and the Advantages of the Latter Measure. by Clarkson, Thomas

He concludes that not all rights are alienable, for the reason that the abandonment, being a voluntary act, must have for its object some good to the person that abandons his right.

From Moral Science; a Compendium of Ethics by Bain, Alexander

There was only a small part of his estate that Sir Walter could dispose of; but had every acre been alienable, it would have made no difference.

From Persuasion by Austen, Jane

A man's character, it will be argued, is an alienable personal possession.

From Determinism or Free-Will? by Cohen, Chapman

Every man may engage his services, and his time; but he cannot sell himself; his person is not an alienable property.

From The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. II. (of II) With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England by Conway, Moncure Daniel