alienable

[ eyl-yuh-nuh-buhl, ey-lee-uh- ]

adjective

, Law.

1. capable of being sold or transferred.

alienable

/ ˈeɪljənəbəl; ˈeɪlɪə- /

adjective

1. law (of property) transferable to another owner

Derived Forms

• ˌalienaˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• alien·a·bili·ty noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of alienable¹

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

Example Sentences

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

From Project Gutenberg

Only pieces of land together with the appurtenant territorial waters are alienable parts of territory.

From Project Gutenberg

And so, again, the lords rights under the commendation seem to constitute an alienable and heritable seignory.

From Project Gutenberg

And now we must turn to consider another element in the kings alienable superiority.

From Project Gutenberg

The discovery that he had an alienable superiority over free land and free landowners would sharpen this rule.

From Project Gutenberg

More About Alienable

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.

Where does alienable come from?

The first records of the word alienable come from the early 1600s. It comes from the Latin verb aliēnāre, meaning “to transfer by sale.”

Alienable is typically used in the context of selling goods or transferring property. If something is inalienable, it’s “not for sale”—it isn’t going anywhere. Inalienable is commonly used to describe rights that people believe cannot be denied to them or taken away from them by their government. However, such rights involve things other than freedom, such as property.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for alienable?

• transferable

What are some words that share a root or word element with alienable?

• inalienable
• unalienable
• alienate

What are some words that often get used in discussing alienable?

• property
• goods
• sell
• transfer
• rights
• freedom

How is alienable used in real life?

Alienable is rarely used. Inalienable is much more common.

My first thought on this: property in our data is not the only solution. Outside the anglosphere, photos of persons are often protected through (inalienable) personal/privacy rights, not property law—same could go for data. (Alienable) property risks reinforcing the problem.

— toteraltermann (@toteraltermann) July 29, 2019

Additionally, I don't think many Rothbardians would draw the line at the idea of a market in kidneys, given that that would consist of voluntary arrangements of alienable property.

— MisesRevived (@UnknownLone) April 13, 2019

 

Try using alienable!

Which of the following terms is a synonym of alienable?

A. transferrable
B. not for sale
C. inherent
D. absolute