Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “enable” come from?

Enable comes from Middle English enablen, meaning to make able or capable.

enable (English): To make somebody able ; to give sufficient...

Definitions

  1. To make somebody able ; to give sufficient...

Ancestry of “enable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishenablen—

Words derived from “enable”

  • enabler
  • enablement
  • enableth
  • disenable
  • enablest
  • re-enable
  • enablable
  • reënable
Every word from Middle English enablen →