Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “explainable” come from?

Explainable comes from English explain plus the Middle English suffix -able, derived from Old French -able (Latin -abilis), while explain traces to Latin ex- and Ancient Greek πλάνος.

explainable (English): Able to be explained or understood

Definitions

  1. Able to be explained or understood

Ancestry of “explainable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishexplainTo make plain, manifest, or intelligible; to...
2Middle Englishexplanen—
3Old Frenchexplaner—
4Latinexplanō—
5Latinplanō—
6Latinplānus—
7Ancient Greekπλάνοςwandering
8Ancient Greekπλανάωto make to wander, lead wandering about; to lead...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpl-néh₂-ti—

Words derived from “explainable”

  • unexplainable
  • unexplainably
  • inexplainable
  • nonexplainable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pl-néh₂-ti →