α. late Middle English inpersonall, late Middle English inpersonell, late Middle English inpersonil.
β. 1500s imparsonall, 1500s impersonalle, 1500s–1600s impersonall, 1500s– impersonal.
impersonaladj.n.
/(ˌ)ɪmˈpəːs(ə)nl/, /(ˌ)ɪmˈpəːsn̩l/, U.S. /ᵻmˈpərs(ə)nəl/ A. adj.
1.
a. Grammar. Designating a verb used only in the third person singular and with no grammatical subject, or only with a semantically empty subject (in English usually it), and expressing an action not attributable to a definite subject (e.g. is raining in it is raining, or happens in as it happens). Also of a verb form, verbal construction, or clause: of or involving such a verb.In Greek and Latin an impersonal verb had no pronoun subject, e.g. ὕει, pluit, it rains, hence verbs in English that have the subject it are sometimes considered not to be truly impersonal. Impersonal verbs do not form a sharply defined class, since many ordinary verbs have impersonal constructions. In English many verbs were also formerly used impersonally which are now used in all the persons, for example, remember was used in impersonal constructions such as me remembreth of the day, while happen can be used both with semantically empty it as subject (as in as it happens, we have a room available) and with other subjects (as in something strange happened).Verbs used only in the third person singular, whether with or without a pronoun subject, are also called unipersonal (unipersonal adj. 2).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > verb > [adjective] > impersonal
impersonalc1414
unipersonal1824
unpersonal1874
c1414 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 105 First be a vocatif case, by a nominatif case, or sumqwat set in þo stede of a nominatif case, be an ablatif case absolute, an be a verbe inpersonil.
a1475 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 94 (MED) The relatyue schall be suche case as þe uerbe inpersonell woll be construid wyth. Is that sothe all way?
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement Introd. 36 Verbes imparsonalles have no more but the thyrde parsone syngular.
1576 G. Ledoyen de la Pichonnaye Playne Treat. Frenche Tongue ii. sig. E.ij The Verbe is Personall, & Impersonall.
a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. i. xvi, in Wks. (1640) III A Verbe is divided two manner of wayes. First, in respect of persons, it is called personall, or impersonall.
1700 A. Lane Key to Art of Lett. 55 The Grammarians call those Verbs impersonal, that are only said in the third Person singular, and they have always it before them, and an Infinitive or a sentence after them.
1795 L. Murray Eng. Gram. 74 As the word impersonal implies a total absence of persons, it is improperly applied to those verbs which have a person.
1841 R. G. Latham Eng. Lang. xxi. 319 These three [meseems, methinks, me lists] are the only true Impersonal Verbs in the English language..because no Pronoun accompanies them.
1890 A. S. Gatschet Klamath Indians i. 429 Here the impersonal verb is..expressed by the simple form of the verb, which inflects for tense, mode, verbals, and severalty.
1934 Hispanic Rev. 2 53 The presence of the s in the compound points to an original reflexive impersonal form: quesequier.
2014 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 17 Jan. 17 ‘Methinks’..is a relic of an impersonal verb which means ‘it seems to me’.
b. Of a word or an inflected form of a word: not indicating the grammatical category of person (person n. 8).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > morphology > inflection > [adjective] > inflected > not
impersonalc1620
absolute1786
crude1805
aptotic1849
flexionless1860
inflectionless1878
c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) ii. xi. §1 A word impersonal is quhilk in al formes of speach keepes one face, and this is adverb or conjunction.
1658 E. Phillips New World Eng. Words Impersonal, a term used in Gramar, and signifieth that word whether pronoun or verb which hath but one termination for all the three persons, or at least which wanteth a termination for one of them.
1880 C. T. Lewis & C. Short Lat. Dict. Impersōnātīvus (sc. modus), the impersonal mood, i.e. the infinitive.
1954 Language 30 160 Portuguese also possesses, of course, the normal or impersonal infinitive without personal endings.
2009 Hispania 92 82 The text includes..four useful appendices: accentuation; tense, aspect, and mood; impersonal verb forms (infinitive, participle, and gerund); and verb conjugation charts.
c. Grammar. Designating the pronoun it, or its equivalent in another language, when used as a semantically empty grammatical element (as in it is raining, come off it!) or in anticipatory or emphatic constructions (as in it appears that we are late, it was John who arrived first); of or relating to any such uses.
ΚΠ
1731 B. Beiler New German Gram. 205 Sometimes there are two Nominatives belonging to one Verb; the first is the Impersonal Pronoun Es, answering to the English It.
1788 L. Brittain Rudim. Eng. Gram. 39 The neutral or impersonal pronoun it as il in French, is used vaguely and absolutely, to express the subject of verbs, or state of nouns.
1849 J. Lambe Westm. Handbk. Universal Gram. 56 There is one pronoun [i.e. the pronoun it] which may be correctly styled an impersonal pronoun in contradistinction to the personal.
1898 J. Foster Compan. Eng. Grammars 30 Impersonal use, as, ‘It is snowing.’ The pronoun here has no clear signification.
1960 Language 36 213 These two constructions, and only these, are constrained to the impersonal subject it.
1990 L. Menn in L. Menn & L. K. Obler Agrammatic Aphasia I. iv. 152 Another property of English..is a fondness for..a variety of structures beginning with impersonal It (It's a shame that... It's a nice day).
2014 L. K. P. Wong Dreaming across Langs. & Cultures i. 82 In It is raining, the impersonal pronoun It is still used.
d. Grammar. Designating a pronoun used to refer to a person or people in an indefinite, general, or indirect way (e.g. one in one should never give up hope, or you in it makes you think); of or relating to such a pronoun. Cf. sense A. 3b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > pronoun > [adjective] > specific use of pronouns
impersonal1803
exclusive1828
inclusive1828
royal1835
1803 Ann. Rev. 1802 1 674/2 It is evident how much both the translators wanted the impersonal pronoun, answering to the Italian si or the French on.
1882 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 498/2 ‘Naturally, it is much pleasanter when one has some one to attend to one, and one too who knows one's tastes and looks after one's little comforts,’ she remarked to her niece, with some intricacy of impersonal pronouns.
1915 H. J. Robins & A. F. Perkins Introd. Study Rhetoric (rev. ed.) 32 The indefinite pronoun ‘one’ is often used to stand for the expression ‘a man’, ‘any man’. This is the impersonal use of ‘one’.
1985 S. R. Anderson & E. L. Keenan in T. Shopen Lang. Typol. & Syntactic Descr. III. v. 260 In a sentence such as When you're hot, you're hot, the second person pronouns are impersonal.
2011 Language 87 160 An NPR interviewer switches from impersonal you to impersonal we to avoid being offensive.
2.
a. Not relating to, directed at, or involving any particular person or group, or people in general; having no personal reference or connection. Hence sometimes with implication of neutrality or lack of bias.
ΚΠ
?1561 tr. U. Zwingli Briefe Rehersal Death of Christ 197 That which might be spoken impersonallye, he attributeth to the person, which is done after the Hebrue manner, who speake not seldome that impersonally whiche longeth to the person: & againe thei attribute that to the person which is impersonal.
1612 S. Sturtevant Metallica vi. 57 These permanent meanes, are either personall, as namely the workeman and artificers in euery action; or else impersonall, of which sort are all other instruments of the businesse.
1751 J. Cleland Mem. Coxcomb iii. 352 Nothing, after all, was more impersonal to me, than this passion of his for lady Gertrude.
1841 R. W. Emerson Method of Nature 25 What is Genius but finer love, a love impersonal, a love of the..perfection of things?
1880 Daily Tel. 9 July The jewels and other appointments of the harem are quite impersonal, belonging to the establishment and not to any of their successive wearers.
1935 E. Glasgow Vein of Iron v. xi. 331 An economic disaster was as impersonal as an earthquake.
1965 Accounting Rev. 40 65/1 Whatever the method of inquiry employed by an academician it must be impersonal and, insofar as possible, independent of the particular value judgments..of the investigator.
2005 Times Lit. Suppl. 4 Feb. 25/3 Pierre Caron sought to exculpate the perpetrators of the September Massacres of 1792 by shifting the blame onto impersonal forces such as mass fear and desire for retribution.
b. Not expressing personal feelings or involving personal relations; lacking warmth or emotion; cold, remote, unfriendly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [adjective] > cold or lacking warm feeling
winter-coldOE
coldc1175
cheald1340
umbrous1483
key-colda1535
frosty1548
frostbitten1564
icy1567
wintry1579
cold-hearteda1616
unwarmeda1625
dry1637
cool1641
frigidal1651
frigid1658
thieveless1725
cool-hearted1748
wintry1748
chill1751
cold as charity1795
freezing1813
ice-cold1815
chilly1841
impersonal1846
pincé1858
ice-cool1891
touch-me-not-ish1895
marmorean1902
1846 N. Amer. Rev. Oct. 438 The letter is entirely impersonal, and might as well have been written by any body else, for all the light it throws upon his feelings.
1850 Times 8 Mar. 4/4 He must be impersonal, impalpable, imperturbable; for the least feeling will lead to expression.
1886 D. M. Mulock King Arthur vii. 199 Lady Damerel spoke in a slow, cold, impersonal voice, never looking at her son.
1916 Bull. Pharmacy Dec. 504/1 The buying of drug-store articles is more or less of an impersonal transaction.
1991 D. Mortman Wild Rose v. xxxiv. 689 She shook hands and offered polite but impersonal smiles to all who passed her.
2015 Washington Post Blogs (Nexis) 15 Aug. An impersonal and aloof politician who is unable to connect with voters.
c. Of an institution, organization, place, etc.: not expressive of or concerned with human personality or individuality; soulless. Also: lacking personal character or individuality; featureless and anonymous.
ΚΠ
1851 A. Helps Compan. Solitude xii. 234 Our Church is too impersonal, if I may use that expression: it belongs too much to books, set creeds and articles, and not enough to living men.
1887 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 26 June 6/3 This is sometimes mourned as the impersonal age, in which ‘soulless corporations’ succeed the sweet amenities of employer and employe.
1919 House & Garden Sept. 38/2 I eat my meal in my own living room,..the Chinese-red cups warming my spirit in a way they could never do in an impersonal dining room.
1958 Jrnl. Aesthetics & Art Crit. 16 310 A world increasingly dominated by large, impersonal organizations, where people become faceless numbers.
1992 J. Mitford Amer. Way of Birth iv. xiii. 209 ‘Alternative’ birth centers, organized to provide maternity care for low-risk women who want to avoid the impersonal, sterile atmosphere of a hospital.
2000 D. T. Kearns & J. Harvey Legacy of Learning iii. 46 The cult of efficiency and professionalism has made schools..large, bureaucratic, and impersonal.
3.
a. Not possessing or endowed with humanity or human nature; existing or manifesting as an abstraction or force, rather than as an entity with self-awareness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > [adjective] > not possessing or endowed with personality
impersonal1640
1640 F. Lenton Piece of World xx. sig. D10 Gold and silver are his Idols or Images..he keeps them prisoners under locke and key, till Bils and Bonds give security for their safe returne, with another petty impersonall Idol, cald Interest.
1788 H. Fuseli tr. J. C. Lavater Aphorisms on Man 189 He who adores an impersonal God, has none.
1842 H. E. Manning Serm. i. 4 It is most necessary for us ever to bear in mind the personality of Satan; for we are often wont to speak of sin, as we do of sicknesses or plagues, as if it were an impersonal thing.
1875 E. Poste tr. Gaius Institutionum Iuris Civilis (ed. 2) i. 64 Slaves being regarded as impersonal men.
1922 A. Barnett Man on Other Side xi. 236 The supreme selfishness with which he and his had used her for their own benefit, as some impersonal creature, that could not be weary or worried or overtaxed.
2005 M. Lawrenz Putting Pieces back Together vii. 74 A god who is just an energy force in the universe..has no desire at all; an impersonal deity is uninteresting in the extreme because it is uninterested.
b. Grammar. Of a noun or pronoun: that refers to something regarded as not having human personality, such as an inanimate thing, an abstract entity, or an animal. Cf. non-personal adj.
ΚΠ
1780 J. Purves Humble Attempt to investigate Scripture-doctr. iv. 74 The Holy Spirit is most frequently expressed by impersonal names or neuter pronouns.
1810 Monthly Rev. May 90 As in every other prayer in the Church Service, the personal and not the impersonal pronoun is employed.
1890 Friends' Intelligencer & Jrnl. 29 Nov. 758/2 The use of the impersonal pronoun..raises the question of the ‘personality’ of God.
1920 J. H. Snowden Truth about Christian Sci. vii. 157 Her favorite name for God is ‘Principle’..which she always treats as an impersonal term, never using the personal pronoun ‘who’ but always the impersonal pronoun ‘which’ in relation to it.
1970 College Composition & Communication 21 345/1 The impersonal it and the vague this are plentiful [in scientific language].
2007 Indepedent (Nexis) 23 Mar. 70 Sly..tends to use the impersonal pronoun when referring the white-faced bay. ‘It's a gamble keeping it in training for another year.’
B. n.
1. Grammar. An impersonal verb or form (see sense A. 1a).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > verb > [noun] > impersonal verb
impersonalc1525
unpersonal1530
c1525 T. Linacre Rudimenta Grammatices sig. D3v (heading) Impersonals with a datiue.
1578 J. Florio Firste Fruites f. 145v Of the impersonals I will speake nothing, because they are not so much in vse of the common sort, but of the learned Poets.
1612 J. Brinsley Posing of Parts f. 20v To come to Impersonals, how are they declined? They are..onley formed in the third Person singular through all Moodes and Tenses.
1696 W. T. Lily, Improved 128 They are called Impersonals, because they have no Person, nor Number, nor Nominative Case.
1783 J. Beattie Diss. Moral & Crit. 431 These English impersonals differ from the antient in this, that they have always before them a nominative expressed.
1845 J. Stoddart Gram. in Encycl. Metrop. (1847) I. 63/1 The impersonals are of two kinds, active and neuter.
1888 Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 19 20 The principal question concerning the impersonals has always been whether the sentences formed by them contain a subject or not.
1935 Mod. Lang. Rev. 30 497 With regard to the impersonal verbs the practice in the early grammars was to distinguish between the active and passive impersonals following the practice of the Latin grammar.
2015 A. Holvoet in A. Holvoet & N. Nau Voice & Argument Struct. in Baltic iii. 369 The Polish -no-/-to- forms are clear instances of an impersonal: they always have an implicit human subject that can never surface.
2. Something which is not connected to a person or to personal concerns or feelings; an abstract or depersonalized concept. Also: a being which is not endowed with humanity or human nature; cf. impersonality n. 2. Somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > immateriality > [noun] > spirituality or being incorporeal > impersonal thing or creature
impersonala1797
impersonality1845
a1797 E. Burke Fourth Let. Peace Regicide Directory France in Writings & Speeches (1991) IX. 50 All those blessings..on him who found out abstraction, personification, and impersonals. In certain cases they are the first of all soporificks.
1884 T. L. Harris Wisdom of Adepts xix. 296 The elementaries..often cause mischief, yet not because they are in sin: impersonals cannot sin.
1934 Poetry 44 70 Our talk kept decently in vague impersonals.
2010 J. Canlis Calvin's Ladder i. 50 In one deft move, Calvin has relocated ‘participation’ from between impersonals (the soul in the divine nature) to personals (the human being in Christ, by the Spirit).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.c1414