Where does “ascertainable” come from?
Ascertainable comes from Middle English -able, Old French -able, Latin -abilis, combining Latin ad- and certus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ád.
ascertainable (English): Able to be ascertained
Definitions
- Able to be ascertained
Ancestry of “ascertainable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ascertain | To find out definitely; to discover or establish;... |
| 2 | Middle English | acerteynen | — |
| 3 | Old French | acertener | to assure; to make sure of, to make certain of |
| 4 | Old French | certain | certain; sure |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | certanus | certain |
| 6 | Latin | certus | certain; fixed, settled, firm; resolved,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | krey- | to sift, separate, divide |