Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “intelligible” come from?

Intelligible comes from Middle French intelligible, from Latin intelligibilis, from Latin intellegabilis, meaning capable of being understood.

intelligible (English): Capable of being understood; clear to the mind

Definitions

  1. Capable of being understood; clear to the mind

Ancestry of “intelligible”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchintelligibleintelligible
2LatinintelligibilisAlternative form of intellegibilis
3Latinintellegibilisunderstandable, intelligible; perceivable
4Latinintellegō—
5Latinlegō—
6Latinlēx—
7Proto-Italiclēg-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-s—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

Words derived from “intelligible”

  • unintelligible
  • intelligibly
  • unintelligibly
  • intelligibleness
  • unintelligibleness
  • interintelligible
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →