Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “permeable” come from?

Permeable derives from Middle French perméable, from Latin permeabilis meaning "able to be passed through," formed from Latin meo "to go" and the suffix -bilis, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mey- and -dʰlom.

permeable (English): that absorbs or allows the passage of fluids

Definitions

  1. that absorbs or allows the passage of fluids

Ancestry of “permeable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchperméable—
2Latinpermeabilispassable; permeable
3Latin-bilis-ble
4Proto-Italic-ðlis—
5Proto-Indo-European-dʰlis—
6Proto-Indo-European-dʰlomAlternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;...

Words derived from “permeable”

  • semipermeable
  • nonpermeable
  • hyperpermeable
  • permeably
  • permeablise
  • semipermeably
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlom →