Etymology Explorer › English

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

  1. allowed to and meeting the necessary conditions...

Ancestry of “eligible”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frencheligiblechoosable; selectable
2Latineligibiliseligible; desirable
3Latinēligō—
4Latinlegō—
5Latinlēx—
6Proto-Italiclēg-—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-s—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

Words derived from “eligible”

  • eligibly
  • reeligible
  • noneligible
  • eligibleness
  • uneligible
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →