Where does “disbelievable” come from?
disbelievable (English) comes from English disbelieve, from English believe, from Middle English beleven, from Old English belīefan, from Old English be-, from Old English hrōpan, from Proto-West Germanic hrōpan, from Proto-Germanic hrōpaną — army.
disbelievable (English): Able to be disbelieved; susceptible to disbelief
Definitions
- Able to be disbelieved; susceptible to disbelief
Ancestry of “disbelievable”, step by step
disbelievable traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English disbelieve
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | disbelieve | To not believe; to exercise disbelief; To... |
| 2 | English | believe | To accept as true, particularly without absolute... |
| 3 | Middle English | beleven | to leave behind |
| 4 | Old English | belīefan | to believe |
| 5 | Old English | be- | a productive prefix usually used to form verbs... |
| 6 | Old English | hrōpan | to shout, proclaim; cry out, scream, howl; to cry... |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | hrōpan | to cry out, to call, to shout |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | hrōpaną | to cry out, call, shout |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |
via English able
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | able | Easy to use; Suitable; competent; Liable to |
| 2 | Middle English | able | capable, expert, qualified, skilful, competent |
| 3 | Old French | able | able; capable |
| 4 | Latin | habilis | able to have/possess/maintain; having sufficient... |
| 5 | Latin | -ilis | -ile |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -elis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -elis | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |