Unmeasure

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To act beyond the capacity of measurement or quantification ; to disregard the limits or bounds of size, quantity, or degree ; to exceed any standard means of calculating or assessing value
2. To transcend all measures of extent or amount ; to operate without regard for numerical or measurable constraints ; to go beyond conventional evaluation or scaling methods
3. To surpass any ability to be gauged or calculated ; to function without reference to standard units or limits ; to extend beyond usual metrics or boundaries of assessment

Etymology: "Unmeasure" is formed from the prefix "un-" and the verb "measure," which came into English from Old French "mesurer," itself from Latin "mensurare." The prefix "un-" has been attached to English verbs since Old English, and it usually reverses or negates the action, as in "undo" or "unfasten." Here, though, the negation is not a simple reversal. "Unmeasure" does not mean to take a measurement away; it describes something so large or so beyond ordinary scales that no measuring standard can contain it. The verb is a modern formation, and it is a rare one. It does not appear in the standard historical dictionaries as an established English word with a long record, so its use is best understood as a deliberate coinage built on familiar parts. Its meaning follows the logic of the prefix: where "measure" assigns a fixed amount, "unmeasure" refers to an amount that escapes assignment altogether.

Synonyms: immeasurable, unquantify

Antonyms: measure, quantify