Irrecoverables

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Describing items, losses, or conditions that cannot be restored, retrieved, or regained after damage or loss
2. Referring to things, situations, or values so damaged or lost that no restoration or compensation is possible
3. Characterizing entities or states that are permanently beyond recovery, repair, or reclamation from their damaged or missing state

Etymology: The core is the English prefix "ir-," meaning "not," attached to "recoverable," which comes from the verb "recover." That verb entered English through Old French "recovrer," from Latin "recuperare," meaning "to get back." A recoverable thing can be taken back, so the negated form describes what cannot be. The plural turns the adjective into a noun, so "irrecoverables" names a category of lost things rather than a quality. English does this often, as in "the unknowns" or "the deceased." The noun is uncommon, and its meaning depends on context, since the things it names are whatever has become unreachable in a given situation.