Where does “eligible” come from?
Eligible comes from Middle French eligible, from Latin eligibilis, derived from Latin eligo meaning to select, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- meaning to gather or choose.
eligible (English): allowed to and meeting the necessary conditions...
Definitions
- allowed to and meeting the necessary conditions...
Ancestry of “eligible”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | eligible | choosable; selectable |
| 2 | Latin | eligibilis | eligible; desirable |
| 3 | Latin | ēligō | to choose, to pluck or root out, extract |
| 4 | Latin | legō | to collect, gather, bring together, catch |
| 5 | Latin | lēx | a proposition or motion for a law made to the people by a magistrate, a bill |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | lēg- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ-s | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |