Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “playable” come from?

Playable comes from Middle English play combined with the suffix -able, which derives from Latin placitum through -abilis, ultimately from Latin placere meaning to please or be acceptable.

playable (English): Able to be played; Of a move, giving a reasonable...

Definitions

  1. Able to be played; Of a move, giving a reasonable...

Ancestry of “playable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishplayTo act in a manner such that one has fun; to...
2Middle EnglishpleyeHappiness, mirth, jolliness, or gaiety; Fun,...
3Old Englishpleġaexercise
4Proto-West Germanicplegōcare; an exercise; a game
5Proto-West Germanic-ōCreates adverbs from adjectives; Creates agent...
6Proto-Germanic-ô-ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade...
7Proto-Indo-European-ōDerives nouns from roots

Words derived from “playable”

  • unplayable
  • nonplayable
  • unplayably
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ō →