Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “portable” come from?

Portable comes from Middle French portable, meaning capable of being carried.

portable (English): Able to be carried or easily moved; Able to be...

Definitions

  1. Able to be carried or easily moved; Able to be...

Ancestry of “portable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishportable—
2Latinportabilisportable, capable of being carried
3Latin-bilis-ble
4Proto-Italic-ðlis—
5Proto-Indo-European-dʰlis—
6Proto-Indo-European-dʰlomAlternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;...

Words derived from “portable”

  • nonportable
  • unportable
  • ultraportable
  • portableness
  • semiportable
  • Portosan
  • portastudio
  • p-code
  • heliportable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlom →