Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ponderable” come from?

Ponderable comes from Middle English and Old French -able, Latin -abilis (capable of), combined with Latin pondus (weight) from pendere (to weigh, hang), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)pend-.

ponderable (English): Having a detectable amount of matter; having a...

Definitions

  1. Having a detectable amount of matter; having a...

Ancestry of “ponderable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishponderto wonder, think of deeply; to consider ...
2Latinpondusweight; weight of a pound; heaviness, weight of a...
3Proto-Italicpondos—
4Proto-Indo-European(s)pénd-os—
5Proto-Indo-European(s)pend-to stretch

Words derived from “ponderable”

  • imponderable
  • ponderability
  • imponderably
  • imponderableness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)pend- →