Where does “answerable” come from?

Answerable comes from Middle English -able, Old French -able, and Latin -abilis, derived from the Latin root swer- meaning to speak.

answerable (English): Required to justify one's actions (to somebody); accountable, responsible

Definitions

  1. Required to justify one's actions (to somebody); accountable, responsible

Ancestry of “answerable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishanswerA response or reply; something said or done in...
2Middle EnglishanswereA response to a query or questioning; an...
3Old Englishandswaruanswer
4Proto-West Germanicandaswaruanswer, reply
5Proto-Germanicandaswarōanswer, reply
6Proto-Germanicanda-against, opposing; un-, de-
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntiopposite; near; in front
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “answerable”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →