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im·pa·tient

(ĭm-pāshənt)

adj.

1. Unable to wait patiently or tolerate delay; restless.

2. Unable to endure irritation or opposition; intolerant: impatient of criticism.

3. Expressing or produced by impatience: an impatient scowl.

4. Restively eager or desirous; anxious: impatient to begin.

[Middle English impacient, from Old French impatient, from Latin impatiēns, impatient- : in-, not; see IN-¹ + patiēns, present participle of patī, to suffer, endure; see PATIENT.]

im·patient·ly adv.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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