Where does “marketable” come from?
Marketable comes from Middle English -able added to market, from Latin mercatus meaning traded goods, ultimately from Proto-Italic merk- related to merchandise.
marketable (English): Of or pertaining to marketability; capable of...
Definitions
- Of or pertaining to marketability; capable of...
Ancestry of “marketable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | market | A gathering of people for the purchase and sale... |
| 2 | Middle English | market | A market periodic public assembly for buying or selling |
| 3 | Old Norse | markaðr | market |
| 4 | Old Saxon | markat | — |
| 5 | Latin | marcātus | — |
| 6 | Latin | mercatus | trade, traffic, buying and selling; market,... |
| 7 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |