Where does “doable” come from?
Doable is a Middle English formation from do with the suffix -able, ultimately meaning capable of being done.
doable (English): Possible to do; feasible; Worthy of sexual...
Definitions
- Possible to do; feasible; Worthy of sexual...
Ancestry of “doable”, step by step
doable traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English do
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | do | A syntactic marker |
| 2 | English | ditto | That which was stated before, the aforesaid, the... |
| 3 | Italian | ditto | — |
| 4 | Italian | detto | past participle of dire; past participle of... |
| 5 | Latin | dictus | said, uttered; mentioned, spoken, having been... |
| 6 | Latin | dīcō | to say, talk, speak, utter, mention |
| 7 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 8 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 9 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 10 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 11 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 12 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 13 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 14 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
via Middle English doable
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | doable | — |