immaculate

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English

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WOTD – 8 December 2023

Etymology

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Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, The Immaculate Conception (1767–1769),[n 1] which depicts the Immaculate Conception (sense 2.3) of the Virgin Mary.

From Late Middle English immaculat, immaculate (“blameless; flawless, spotless; specifically of the Virgin Mary: pure, undefiled”),[1] borrowed from Latin immaculātus (“unstained”), from im- (negative prefix) +‎ maculātus (“stained, spotted; defiled, polluted; (figurative) dishonoured”),[2] the perfect passive participle of maculō (“to spot, stain; to defile, pollute; (figurative) to dishonour”), from macula (“a blemish, spot, stain; (figurative) blot on one’s character, fault”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *smh₂-tló-m (“wiping (?)”), from *smeh₁- (“to rub; to smear”). The word displaced Middle English unwemmed (“pure, untainted”). See also -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

cognates

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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immaculate (comparative more immaculate, superlative most immaculate)

  1. Having no blemish or stain; absolutely clean and tidy.
    Synonyms: clear, lily-white, spotless, stainless, unsullied; see also Thesaurus:clean
    Antonyms: unimmaculate; see also Thesaurus:unclean
    • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedie of King Richard the Second. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Simmes for Androw Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii], signature I2, recto:
      O loyall Father, of a treacherous Sonne, / Thou ſheere immaculate and ſiluer Fountaine, / From vvhence this ſtreame, through muddy paſſages, / Hath held his current, and defild himſelfe.
    • p. 1597, J[ohn] Donne, “Satyre IIII”, in Poems, […] with Elegies on the Authors Death, London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Iohn Marriot, […], published 1633, →OCLC, page 344:
      So in immaculate clothes, and Symetrie / Perfect as circles, vvith ſuch nicetie / As a young Preacher at his firſt time goes / To preach, he enters, […]
    • 1733, “an Eminent Hand” [pseudonym; Alexander Pope], The Impertinent, or A Visit to the Court. A Satyr. […], London: […] John Wil[f]ord, […], →OCLC, page 15:
      So firſt to preach a vvhite-glov'd Chaplain goes, / VVith Band of Lily, and vvith Cheek of Roſe, / Svveeter than Sharon, in immaculate trim, / Neatneſs itſelf impertinent in him.
    • 1856, Harriet Beecher Stowe, “The Gordon Family”, in Dred; a Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp. […], volume I, Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson and Company, →OCLC, page 52:
      Every rustle of her silvery silk gown, every fold of the snowy kerchief on her neck, every plait of her immaculate cap, spoke a soul long retired from this world and its cares.
  2. (figurative)
    1. Containing no mistakes.
      Synonyms: flawless, impeccable, perfect
      Antonym: unimmaculate
      1. (specifically) Of a book, manuscript, etc.: having no textual errors.
    2. (archaic) Free from sin; morally pure; sinless.
      Synonyms: irreproachable; see also Thesaurus:pure
      Antonyms: maculate, unimmaculate; see also Thesaurus:impure
    4. (Roman Catholicism) Of the Virgin Mary or her womb: pure, undefiled.
  3. (botany, zoology, especially entomology) Lacking blotches, spots, or other markings.
    Synonyms: self-coloured, spotless, unspotted
    Antonyms: maculate, maculated, spotted

Derived terms

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Translations

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Notes

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  1. ^ From the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain.

References

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  1. ^ “immaculāt(e, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “immaculate, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “immaculate, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Latin

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Participle

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immaculāte

  1. vocative masculine singular of immaculātus
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