invisibleadj.n.
/ɪnˈvɪzɪb(ə)l/ A. adj.
1.
a. That cannot be seen; that by its nature is not an object of sight.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > [adjective]
unseyenlyc1175
unsenec1200
unseeinga1300
invisible1340
unperceptiblea1398
unseeablea1400
unvisiblec1402
unsightablea1420
unsightyc1440
unperceivable?a1475
unsightfulc1480
imperceptible1536
secret1559
sightless1586
undiscernable1586
invised1609
viewlessa1616
imperceivablea1617
unspiablea1618
inconspicuous1624
undiscernible1624
inconspicablea1652
imperspicable1664
unperceptable1678
imperceptive1722
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 8231 How God invysible es, And unchaungeable, and endles.
c1415 J. Lydgate Temple Glas 128 Hou þat Mars was take Of Vulcanus,..And wiþ þe Cheynes invisible bound.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xxiii. 106 Though that aungell[s] be invysyble, Inpalpable, and also celestiall.
1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. 137 There is yet in him another nature whose substance is inuisible, ouer and aboue this bodily nature which we see.
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 19 Phidias..had a singular abilitie to imagine things invisible.
1727 D. Defoe Syst. Magick i. ii. 51 The Devil, or some of his invisible Agents which we call evil Spirits.
1880 A. Geikie Elem. Lessons Physical Geogr. (new ed.) ii. 75 They collect in a visible form the ever-present invisible vapour of the air.
b. Invisible Church. Cf. Visible Church at visible adj. 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > [noun] > thing or person
Invisible Church1561
invisible1646
imperceptible1659
invisibilitya1668
the invisible1781
invisible man1911
1561 Conf. Faith Scotl. xvi This [the Catholik] Kirk is invisible, knowin onlie to God, who allone knoweth whome he hes chosin, and comprehendis alsweall the Elect that be departed, (commounlie called the Kirk Triumphant), as those that yit leve and feght against syne and Sathan.
1638 W. Chillingworth Relig. Protestants Ans. iv. §53 The doctrine of Christ, the profession whereof constitutes the visible church, the belief and obedience the invisible.
1848 Wardlaw Congreg. Independency 48 There is no such thing, in any strict propriety, as an invisible church.
1851 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1863) 4th Ser. ii. 14 There is..a Church visible and a Church invisible; the latter consists of those spiritual persons who fulfil the notion of the Ideal Church—the former is the Church as it exists in any particular age, embracing within it all who profess Christianity.
1885 Church Q. Rev. Jan. 271 That wholly unscriptural figment, the Invisible Church..The only Invisible Church known to Christian theology consists of the angels and the faithful departed.
c. invisible ink (called also sympathetic ink): see quot. 1823.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > ink > [noun] > invisible ink
invisible ink1684
sympathetic ink1721
secret ink1852
1684 R. Boyle Mem. Nat. Hist. Humane Blood App. 277 This Liquor may..be imployed, as an invisible Ink.
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. (at cited word) Sympathetical, The Writing..which was written with the Invisible Ink.
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 35 An invisible ink, which requires heat, vapour, or some other liquid to be applied to it, to render visible what is so written.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xv. 591 Their buttons contained letters written in invisible ink.
d. Applied to associations, etc. not having a visible, open organization, esp. as invisible college.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > types of association, society, or organization > [noun] > other types of association, society, or organization
invisible college1647
rota1660
working party1744
free association1761
working committee1821
Ethical Society1822
bar association1824
league1846
congress1870
tiger1874
cult1875
Daughters of the American Revolution1890
community group1892
housing association1898
working party1902
development agency1910
affinity group1915
propaganda machine1916
funding body1922
collective1925
Ku-Klux1930
network1946
NGO1946
production brigade1950
umbrella organization1950
plantation1956
think-tank1958
think group1961
team1990
1647 R. Boyle Let. 20 Feb. in T. Birch Life R. Boyle (1744) 67 The corner-stones of the Invisible, or (as they term themselves) the Philosophical College, do now and then honour me with their company.
1647 R. Boyle Let. to Hartlib 8 May in T. Birch Life R. Boyle (1744) 78 You interest yourself so much in the Invisible College.
1744 T. Birch Life R. Boyle 82 The Invisible College..probably refers to that assembly of learned and curious gentlemen, who..at length gave birth to the Royal Society.
1884 Cent. Mag. July 398/1 The secret history of the Invisible Empire, as the [Ku Klux] Klan was also called.
1962 D. J. de S. Price Sci. since Babylon (new ed.) v. 99 Collaborative work now exceeds the single-author paper, and the device of prepublication duplicated sheets circulated to the new Invisible Colleges has begun to trespass upon the traditional functions of the printed paper in a published journal.
1962 D. J. de S. Price Sci. since Babylon (new ed.) v. 99 The new Invisible Colleges, rapidly growing up in all the most hard-pressed sections of the scholarly research front, might well be the subject of an interesting sociological study.
1967 Garvey & Griffith in De Reuck & Knight Communication in Sci. 25 Once an author submits his manuscript the dissemination of this piece of work is small and usually only to members of his invisible college.
1971 A. H. Halsey & M. A. Trow Brit. Academics xiii. 362 Here is evidence of the ‘invisible college’ having its greatest importance.
e. invisible exports, invisible imports: those items which do not appear in returns of exports and imports for which payment has to be accepted from or made to a foreign country, such as shipping services, insurance, profits on foreign investment, money spent by visitors from a country with a different currency, etc. Also invisible earnings, invisible trader, invisible transaction, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > merchandise > [noun] > imports or exports > invisible
invisible imports1911
invisible1958
1911 C. G. Robertson Eng. under Hanoverians ii. iv. 344 Prior to the Industrial Revolution the seaborne and carrying trades, with their invisible exports, are an expanding source of wealth, but are not indispensable.
1919 J. A. Todd Mech. Exchange (ed. 2) xiv. 174 An invisible export is something which enables a country to import goods without paying for them directly by the export of other goods, and conversely, an invisible import is something which makes it necessary for a country to export goods without receiving payment directly in other goods.
1923 Westm. Gaz. 24 Feb. Depressed shipping means less insurance, less banking, and a smaller earning in freights—all the things we mean when we speak of our invisible exports.
1935 Economist 12 Oct. 712/2 Among ‘invisible’ traders with Italy, the shipping lines with Mediterranean routes would suffer some inconvenience.
1957 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 991/2 Invisible exports are of vital importance to countries whose limited resources..make them dependent on large imports. Italy's high percentage is due to foreign tourists' expenditure and to a steady flow of remittances from Italians living abroad.
1958 Economist 18 Oct. 256/1 The..government deficit on invisible account.
1963 Ann. Reg. 1962 479 Net earnings on invisible transactions improved somewhat.
1969 Times 27 Nov. 6/6 The rapid growth of invisible earnings.
1971 Daily Tel. 24 Apr. 2 The works of songwriters and composers are now one of Britain's major ‘invisible’ exports.
f. invisible man n. used esp. with direct or implied allusion to H. G. Wells's novel The Invisible Man (1897).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > [noun] > thing or person
Invisible Church1561
invisible1646
imperceptible1659
invisibilitya1668
the invisible1781
invisible man1911
1911 G. K. Chesterton Innocence of Father Brown v. 120 (title) The invisible man.
1940 ‘G. Orwell’ in Horizon Mar. 191 The one theme that is really new is the scientific one. Death-rays, Martians, invisible men, robots.
1959 N. Polsky in N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 313 Even in the world of the hipster the Negro remains essentially what Ralph Ellison called him—an invisible man.
1963 D. B. Hughes Expendable Man v. 139 He's safe only so long as he's the invisible man. I'm going to have to..find out who he is.
1966 J. Wainwright Evil Intent 123 He isn't The Invisible Man. Somebody must have seen him.
1973 E. Berckman Victorian Album 144 Dancey'll work out how to be the invisible man, it's just up his street.
g. invisible mending: repair of material, clothing, etc., so carefully executed that little or no sign of the repair can be seen. So invisible mender, one who undertakes such repairs; invisibly-mend v. trans.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > mending or repairing > [noun] > mending fabric or clothing > without sign of repair
fine-drawing1688
invisible mending1921
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > mender > [noun] > showing no sign of repair
invisible mender1921
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > [noun] > sewing > repairing or mending > invisible mending
invisible mending1921
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > [noun] > sewing > repairing or mending > invisible mending > one who
invisible mender1921
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > mending or repairing > [verb (transitive)] > mend fabric or clothing > without sign of repair
invisibly-mend1959
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > sew or ornament textile fabric [verb (transitive)] > sew > repair or mend > invisibly
invisibly-mend1959
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §419 Invisible mender,..repairs tears, by hand, using stoating, finedrawing, or rentering process, according to kind of tear and material.
1931 W. Holtby Poor Caroline i. 33 She complained of the price of invisible mending.
1937 ‘E. Price’ Enter—Jane i. 1 Until you have paid the invisible-mending bill..you shan't have your threepence a week pocket-money!
1959 G. Freeman Jack would be Gentleman i. 16 Sitting in the shop window invisibly-mending nylons with a little hook.
1969 D. Francis Enquiry xv. 201 My coat would cost a fortune at the invisible menders.
1970 D. Francis Rat Race xv. 199 My coat was soaked... Have to get it cleaned, and the slit invisibly mended.
2. Not in sight; not to be seen at a particular place or time, or by a particular person.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > [adjective] > out of sight
invisible1555
anoptical1598
sightless1632
eyeless1839
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 239v The starre of the pole Artike, is there inuisible.
1655 E. Nicholas Nicholas Papers (1892) II. 266 The letter is invisible, and hee keepes it as close as hee doth [etc.].
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. xvii. 52 The degenerate grandsons of Theodosius, who were invisible to their subjects.
1840 Lady C. M. C. Bury Hist. Flirt vii Langham called every day..but I was invisible.
3.
a. Too small to be discerned; imperceptible.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > [adjective] > not noticeable or conspicuous
imperceptible?a1475
inobservable1600
unremarkable1611
inevident1614
unobservable1615
subtle1654
invisible1665
unnoticeable1822
inconspicuous1828
unpronounced1852
unindictable1861
unconspicuous1874
unapparent1890
unseeming1923
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] > extremely small > so as to be invisible
invisible1665
small-scale1924
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 97 Insinuating themselves into the invisible pores of the stone.
1794 W. Blake Sick Rose in Songs of Experience in Compl. Poetry & Prose (1982) 23 O Rose tou art sick. The invisible worm..Has found out thy bed.
1834 E. E. Perkins Lady's Shopping Man. 103 Invisible Wire for Lace and Nett Caps.
1873 R. Broughton Nancy I. i. 6 The thinnest legs,..the invisiblest nose, and over visiblest ears [etc.].
1881 Queen 12 Mar. (advt.) Invisible fringe nets made of hair.
1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring & Summer 87/1 Invisible Hairpins, about 50 in a box.
1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 104. 322/2 Invisible Hair Pins made of Good Wire.
1901 P. N. Hasluck Tailoring 21 There are three kinds of absolutely invisible stitches which are used to repair tears... These are stoating, fine-drawing, and rentering.
1964 McCall's Sewing in Colour ii. 30/1 Invisible stitch, used for hems and attaching facings and interfacings in tailoring.
1966 J. Stevens Cox Illustr. Dict. Hairdressing & Wigmaking 83/2 Invisible pins, very fine hairpins which are difficult to see when placed in the hairdress.
1967 J. Caird Murder Scholastic xiv. 190 Mabel Glossop had worn her thick, beautiful white hair in a bun, over which she put a fine ‘invisible’ net.
1973 Times 19 Oct. 3/1 (advt.) Without these foils such modern marvels as ‘invisible’ hearing aids or heart pacemakers simply could not exist.
b. invisible green, ‘a very dark shade of green, approaching to black, and not easily distinguished from it’ (Webster, 1864). (Remembered in 1844.)
B. n.
1.
a. An invisible thing, person, or being.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > [noun] > thing or person
Invisible Church1561
invisible1646
imperceptible1659
invisibilitya1668
the invisible1781
invisible man1911
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica v. xxi. 268 The practise of those pencils, that will describe invisibles . View more context for this quotation
1742 H. Baker Microscope made Easy ii. i. 68 There are as many, or even more kinds of these Invisibles (if I may use the Term) than of those whose Size is discernable by the naked Eye.
1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 249 Such a jest as fill'd with hellish glee Certain invisibles as shrewd as he.
1799 C. Lamb Let. 15 Mar. in Lett. C. & M. A. Lamb (1975) I. 162 You are as familiar with these antiquated monastics, as Swedenbourg..with his Invisibles.
b. the invisible, the unseen world; the Deity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > invisibility > [noun] > thing or person
Invisible Church1561
invisible1646
imperceptible1659
invisibilitya1668
the invisible1781
invisible man1911
the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] > according to other attributes
horn of salvation (health)c825
fatherOE
Our FatherOE
leecha1200
searcher of (men's) heartsa1382
untempter1382
headstone of the cornerc1400
Valentinec1450
illuminator1485
sun?1521
righteous maker1535
shepherd1535
verity1535
strengthener1567
gracer1592
heart-searcher1618
heartbreaker1642
sustainera1680
philanthropist1730
the invisible1781
praise1782
All-Father1814
wisdom1855
omniscient1856
engracer1866
inbreather1873
God of the gaps1933
the great —— in the sky1968
the world > the supernatural > deity > heaven > [noun]
bliss971
heavenOE
paradiseOE
towera1240
seatc1275
heavenwarda1300
Abraham's bosomc1300
tabernaclea1340
wonea1350
sanctuary1382
pasturec1384
firmament1388
sky?1518
Canaan1548
welkin1559
happy land1562
sphere?1592
heavenwards1614
afterworld1615
patria1707
god-home1848
overworld1858
the invisible1868
1781 W. Cowper Retirem. 61 The Invisible in things scarce seen reveal'd, To whom an atom is an ample field.
1868 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám (ed. 2) lxxi. 15 I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some letter of that After-life to spell.
1892 Gladstone in Pall Mall Gaz. 13 Apr. 7/1 The maintenance of faith in the Invisible..And by that I mean a living faith in a personal God.
2. One who denies the visible character of the Church (J. H. Blunt Dict. Sects 1874); spec. in plural certain German Protestants of the 16th cent.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > other sects and movements > invisibles > [noun]
invisible1852
1852 W. F. Hook Church Dict. (1871) 400 Invisibles is a distinguishing name given to the disciples of Osiander, Flacius Illyricus, Swenkfeld, &c.
3. Usually in plural. Invisible exports and imports. Cf. sense A. 1e.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > merchandise > [noun] > imports or exports > invisible
invisible imports1911
invisible1958
1958 Economist 18 Oct. 256/1 Net earnings from commercial services ranked as invisibles also rose.
1962 H. O. Beecheno Introd. Business Stud. xv. 143 These ‘invisibles’ arise mainly from services which we supply to other countries.
1964 New Statesman 3 Apr. 514/1 Angola and Mozambique provide one-third of all Portuguese exports, valued at £50 million, and this sum does not include invisibles from tourism, shipping and railways.
1973 Daily Tel. 13 July 19 The average deficit for the latest three months, excluding invisibles, is £22 million lower than in May at £133 million.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1340- have it over a person
- have it rough
- have it wired
- have it your own way
- have it your way
- have itchy feet
- have its days
- have its end upon
- have its ends upon
- have its moment
- have iwald
- have jam on it
- have joy of
- have kittens
- have known better days
- have law to do
- have left
- have legs
- have liefer
- have light fingers
- have little miss of
- have little price of
- have little price upon
- have little, no scruple
- have livery