Where does “reasonable” come from?
Reasonable comes from Old French resnable, from Latin rationabilis, an adjective formed from ratio (reckoning, reason) and -abilis (capable of being), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂reh₁- (to count, reckon).
reasonable (English): Having the faculty of reason; rational,...
Definitions
- Having the faculty of reason; rational,...
Ancestry of “reasonable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | resnable | wise; intelligent |
| 2 | Latin | ratiōnābilis | rational, capable of reasoning |
| 3 | Latin | ratiō | reason, reasoning, explanation, ground, motive, rationality, rationale, purpose |
| 4 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 5 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 6 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 7 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 8 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 9 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 10 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |