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
- Having a detectable amount of matter; having a...
Ancestry of “ponderable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ponder | To wonder, think of deeply |
| 2 | Latin | pondus | weight; weight of a pound; heaviness, weight of a... |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | pondos | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pénd-os | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pend- | to stretch |