Where does “able” come from?

Able comes from Old Northern French able, which passed through Middle English able and Middle English ablen before entering modern English.

able (English): Easy to use; Suitable; competent; Liable to

Definitions

  1. Easy to use; Suitable; competent; Liable to

Ancestry of “able”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishablecapable, expert, qualified, skilful, competent
2Old Frenchableable; capable
3Latinhabilisable to have/possess/maintain; having sufficient...
4Latin-ilis-ile
5Proto-Italic-elis—
6Proto-Indo-European-elis—
7Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “able”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →