Where does “accountable” come from?
Accountable comes from Middle English -able and Old French -able, derived from Latin -abilis and the prefix con-, ultimately from Latin com meaning "together."
accountable (English): Obliged, when called upon, to answer (for one’s deeds); answerable
Definitions
- Obliged, when called upon, to answer (for one’s deeds); answerable
Ancestry of “accountable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | account | A registry of pecuniary transactions; a written... |
| 2 | Middle English | acounte | An enumeration or count; the act of counting |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | acunte | account; count; calculation; account; version of... |
| 4 | Old French | aconte | — |
| 5 | Old French | aconter | to tell; to inform of; to do the accounts |
| 6 | Old French | conter | to tell; to say; to recount; to add up |
| 7 | Latin | computō | to calculate, compute, reckon together |
| 8 | Latin | com- | allomorph of con- |
| 9 | Latin | con- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing... |
| 10 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 11 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 15 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 16 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 17 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 18 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 19 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 20 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 21 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |