Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “docile” come from?

Docile comes from Middle French docile, from Latin docilis meaning "teachable," derived from Latin docere meaning "to teach," from Proto-Italic dokeō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European deḱ-.

docile (English): Ready to accept instruction or direction;...

Definitions

  1. Ready to accept instruction or direction;...

Ancestry of “docile”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishdocyle—

Words derived from “docile”

  • docilely
  • undocile
  • docileness
Every word from Middle English docyle →