irreparabilis

Irreparabilis is a Latin adjective meaning irreparable or not able to be repaired. It is formed from reparabilis, “able to be repaired,” with the negative prefix ir- before r, giving a sense of permanent or irrecoverable state. The neuter form is irreparabile, while the masculine and feminine nominative singular is irreparabilis; the plural forms are irreparabiles (masc./fem.) and irreparabilia (neuter).

In Latin grammar, irreparabilis is a third-declension adjective. It agrees with a noun in gender, number, and case, and its neuter plural typically ends in -a, following classical patterns for neuter adjectives. The word is most commonly encountered in post-classical Latin and in legal, philosophical, or ecclesiastical texts that employ Latin terminology to describe consequences, damages, or conditions that cannot be remedied.

Usage and scope. The phrase damnum irreparabile (irreparable damage) is one of the standard collocations, used to denote harm that cannot be repaired or undone. Other constructions, such as res irreparabilis (an irreparable thing), appear in Latin writings and later texts that draw on the Latin tradition. In modern languages, the exact form irreparabilis is rare outside quoted Latin phrases; related adjectives survive in Italian as irreparabile, with the same meaning. In English-language scholarship, irreparabilis is typically substituted with irreparable or rendered in Latin only within quotations or titles for stylistic reasons.

See also. Reparabilis, irreparabile (Italian usage), Latin phrases such as damnum irreparabile.