impossibilityn.

Brit.

/ɪmˌpɒsᵻˈbɪlᵻti/,

/ˌɪmpɒsᵻˈbɪlᵻti/, U.S.

/ˌɪmˌpɑsəˈbɪlᵻdi/,

/ᵻmˌpɑsəˈbɪlᵻdi/

Etymology: < French impossibilité (14th cent.) or < Latin impossibilitāt-em , < impossibilis impossible adj. and n.: see -ity suffix.

a. The quality of being impossible.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > impossibility > [noun]

impossibleness1447

unpossibility?1492

impossibilitya1530

unpossibleness1561

impredicability1906

a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. CCxv No lesse impossibilite it is, but rather more.

1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer iii. f. ccclii^v Shewe me the absence of that impossibilyte.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cx To declare the impossibilite of this demaunde.

1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 23 The impossibility, that his Intelligence could be true.

1707 tr. P. Le Lorrain de Vallemont Curiosities in Husbandry & Gardening 187 The Impossibility they lie under of restoring them to their first State.

1754 J. Edwards Careful Enq. Freedom of Will i. iii. 19 Impossibility is the same as negative Necessity, or a Necessity that a Thing should not be.

1876 J. B. Mozley Univ. Serm. (1877) xi. 221 Where is the impossibility of a glorious and endless existence?

b. With an and plural: An instance of this; an impossible thing; that which cannot be.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > impossibility > [noun] > instance(s) of

impossiblec1374

impossibilityc1500

cannot1626

adynaton1654

impossible1839

blue dahlia1880

c1500 Three Kings' Sons (1895) 112 I am not bounde to noon ympossibilite.

1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. i. f. 9 A demonstration leadyng to an impossibilitie is that argument, whose conclusion is impossible.

1693 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. III. 105 The Impossibilities are of two sorts, Impossible Truths, and Impossible Goods.

1772 J. Priestley Inst. Relig. I. 31 Even divine power cannot produce impossibilities.

1828 T. Carlyle Burns in Crit. & Misc. Ess. (1872) II. 14 Is not every genius an impossibility till he appear?

†2. Impotence, inability. (So medieval Latin impossibilitās.) Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > inability > [noun] > utter inability or powerlessness

unmightinessOE

non-powera1387

unpowerc1400

impotencea1420

palsya1450

impossibilityc1450

impotencyc1460

impuissance1483

impotentness1530

powerlessness1650

enervity1656

paralysis1809

nervelessness1857

c1450 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi iii. vi. 71 Loue..pleyniþ neuere of impossibilite, for it demeþ itself miȝty to all þinges.

a1555 H. Latimer 27 Serm. (1562) ii. f. 53 Whan..we say, Leade vs not into temptation, we learne to know our own impossibilitie and infirmitie.

a1555 H. Latimer 27 Serm. (1562) ii. f. 22^v He woulde haue vs to know our owne impossibilitye and vnablenesse to doe any thyng.

1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa IV. ii. vi. 590 Newes of his impossibilitie of doing it.

1796 F. Jacson Plain Sense (ed. 2) II. 167 The utter impossibility of her father to afford any effectual assistance.

3. Mathematics. The quality of being ‘impossible’ or imaginary. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > particular qualities > imaginary

impossibility1673

imaginary1768

1673 J. Wallis Let. in S. P. Rigaud & S. J. Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men 17th Cent. (1841) (modernized text) II. 557 Not~withstanding the impossibility of..the square root of a negative quantity.

Compounds

impossibility theorem n. (see quots.).Earlier known as the possibility theorem n. at possibility n. Compounds.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > impossibility > [noun] > theory of

impossibility theorem1957

1950 K. J. Arrow in Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 58 342 The Possibility Theorem shows that, if no prior assumptions are made about the nature of individual orderings, there is no method of voting which will remove the paradox of voting discussed in Part I, neither plurality voting nor any scheme of proportional representation, no matter how complicated.]

1957 R. D. Luce & H. Raiffa Games & Decisions xiv. 333 (heading) Conditions on the social welfare function and Arrow's impossibility theorem.

1960 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 74 509 (heading) Proof of the Arrow impossibility theorem.

1967 K. J. Arrow in Laslett & Runciman Philos., Politics & Society 3rd Ser. 228 The following general theorem may be stated: There can be no constitution simultaneously satisfying the conditions of Collective Rationality, the Pareto Principle, the Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives, and Non-Dictatorship. The proof falls into two parts. It is first shown that if an individual is decisive for some pair of alternatives, then he is a dictator, contrary to the condition of Non-Dictatorship. Hence, no individual is decisive for any pair of alternatives, and the Impossibility Theorem itself then follows easily with the aid of the Pareto Principle.

1969 D. Black in Jrnl. Law & Econ. 12 ii. 227 The Impossibility Theorem shows that in the general case and apart from restrictions on the members' preferences, no committee procedure will be able to satisfy certain conditions which, Arrow suggests, a procedure might reasonably be required to meet, and that whichever committee procedure we may choose will, for certain sets of schedules, infringe one or more of the apparently reasonable conditions he specifies.

1971 W. Lee Decision Theory & Human Behavior iv. 103 Unhappily..reasonable conditions for deriving a social preference ranking from individual rankings are inconsistent with one another, i.e., in general there may be no social ranking conforming to the desired conditions, a conclusion known as Arrow's impossibility theorem.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	impossibility
释义	impossibilityn. Brit. /ɪmˌpɒsᵻˈbɪlᵻti/, /ˌɪmpɒsᵻˈbɪlᵻti/, U.S. /ˌɪmˌpɑsəˈbɪlᵻdi/, /ᵻmˌpɑsəˈbɪlᵻdi/ Etymology: < French impossibilité (14th cent.) or < Latin impossibilitāt-em , < impossibilis impossible adj. and n.: see -ity suffix. 1. a. The quality of being impossible. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > impossibility > [noun] impossibleness1447 unpossibility?1492 impossibilitya1530 unpossibleness1561 impredicability1906 a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. CCxv No lesse impossibilite it is, but rather more. 1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer iii. f. ccclii^v Shewe me the absence of that impossibilyte. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cx To declare the impossibilite of this demaunde. 1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 23 The impossibility, that his Intelligence could be true. 1707 tr. P. Le Lorrain de Vallemont Curiosities in Husbandry & Gardening 187 The Impossibility they lie under of restoring them to their first State. 1754 J. Edwards Careful Enq. Freedom of Will i. iii. 19 Impossibility is the same as negative Necessity, or a Necessity that a Thing should not be. 1876 J. B. Mozley Univ. Serm. (1877) xi. 221 Where is the impossibility of a glorious and endless existence? b. With an and plural: An instance of this; an impossible thing; that which cannot be. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > impossibility > [noun] > instance(s) of impossiblec1374 impossibilityc1500 cannot1626 adynaton1654 impossible1839 blue dahlia1880 c1500 Three Kings' Sons (1895) 112 I am not bounde to noon ympossibilite. 1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. i. f. 9 A demonstration leadyng to an impossibilitie is that argument, whose conclusion is impossible. 1693 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. III. 105 The Impossibilities are of two sorts, Impossible Truths, and Impossible Goods. 1772 J. Priestley Inst. Relig. I. 31 Even divine power cannot produce impossibilities. 1828 T. Carlyle Burns in Crit. & Misc. Ess. (1872) II. 14 Is not every genius an impossibility till he appear? †2. Impotence, inability. (So medieval Latin impossibilitās.) Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > inability > [noun] > utter inability or powerlessness unmightinessOE non-powera1387 unpowerc1400 impotencea1420 palsya1450 impossibilityc1450 impotencyc1460 impuissance1483 impotentness1530 powerlessness1650 enervity1656 paralysis1809 nervelessness1857 c1450 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi iii. vi. 71 Loue..pleyniþ neuere of impossibilite, for it demeþ itself miȝty to all þinges. a1555 H. Latimer 27 Serm. (1562) ii. f. 53 Whan..we say, Leade vs not into temptation, we learne to know our own impossibilitie and infirmitie. a1555 H. Latimer 27 Serm. (1562) ii. f. 22^v He woulde haue vs to know our owne impossibilitye and vnablenesse to doe any thyng. 1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa IV. ii. vi. 590 Newes of his impossibilitie of doing it. 1796 F. Jacson Plain Sense (ed. 2) II. 167 The utter impossibility of her father to afford any effectual assistance. 3. Mathematics. The quality of being ‘impossible’ or imaginary. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > particular qualities > imaginary impossibility1673 imaginary1768 1673 J. Wallis Let. in S. P. Rigaud & S. J. Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men 17th Cent. (1841) (modernized text) II. 557 Not~withstanding the impossibility of..the square root of a negative quantity. Compounds impossibility theorem n. (see quots.).Earlier known as the possibility theorem n. at possibility n. Compounds. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > impossibility > [noun] > theory of impossibility theorem1957 1950 K. J. Arrow in Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 58 342 The Possibility Theorem shows that, if no prior assumptions are made about the nature of individual orderings, there is no method of voting which will remove the paradox of voting discussed in Part I, neither plurality voting nor any scheme of proportional representation, no matter how complicated.] 1957 R. D. Luce & H. Raiffa Games & Decisions xiv. 333 (heading) Conditions on the social welfare function and Arrow's impossibility theorem. 1960 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 74 509 (heading) Proof of the Arrow impossibility theorem. 1967 K. J. Arrow in Laslett & Runciman Philos., Politics & Society 3rd Ser. 228 The following general theorem may be stated: There can be no constitution simultaneously satisfying the conditions of Collective Rationality, the Pareto Principle, the Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives, and Non-Dictatorship. The proof falls into two parts. It is first shown that if an individual is decisive for some pair of alternatives, then he is a dictator, contrary to the condition of Non-Dictatorship. Hence, no individual is decisive for any pair of alternatives, and the Impossibility Theorem itself then follows easily with the aid of the Pareto Principle. 1969 D. Black in Jrnl. Law & Econ. 12 ii. 227 The Impossibility Theorem shows that in the general case and apart from restrictions on the members' preferences, no committee procedure will be able to satisfy certain conditions which, Arrow suggests, a procedure might reasonably be required to meet, and that whichever committee procedure we may choose will, for certain sets of schedules, infringe one or more of the apparently reasonable conditions he specifies. 1971 W. Lee Decision Theory & Human Behavior iv. 103 Unhappily..reasonable conditions for deriving a social preference ranking from individual rankings are inconsistent with one another, i.e., in general there may be no social ranking conforming to the desired conditions, a conclusion known as Arrow's impossibility theorem. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.c1450
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