Where does “maintainable” come from?
Maintainable comes from Middle English -able, Old French -able, Latin -abilis, combining Latin teneo (to hold) and manus (hand), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European man- (to hold or remain).
maintainable (English): Able to be maintained
Definitions
- Able to be maintained
Ancestry of “maintainable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | maintain | To keep up; to preserve; to uphold (a state, condition etc.) |
| 2 | Middle English | mayntenen | — |
| 3 | Old French | maintenir | to maintain |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | manuteneo | I support, maintain |
| 5 | Latin | manu | ablative singular of manus; by hand; with the... |
| 6 | Latin | manus | hand; bravery, valor; violence, fighting |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | manus | hand |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | man- | human being; man; hand |