Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “surmountable” come from?

surmountable (English) comes from English surmount, from Middle English surmounten, from Old French surmonter, from Old French sur-, from Latin super-, from Latin super, from Latin eks-uper, from Proto-Indo-European upéri.

surmountable (English): Able to be surmounted or overcome; defeatable

Definitions

  1. Able to be surmounted or overcome; defeatable

Ancestry of “surmountable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsurmountTo get over; to overcome; To cap; to sit on top...
2Middle Englishsurmounten—
3Old Frenchsurmonterto rise above, surmount
4Old Frenchsur-over, on top of
5Latinsuper-super-; over, above
6Latinsuper"accusative" above, on the top of, upon;...
7Latineks-uper—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanupérialternative reconstruction of *upér
9Proto-Indo-Europeanupérabove; over
10Proto-Indo-Europeanupóunder, below
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ewp-—

Words derived from “surmountable”

  • insurmountable
  • unsurmountable
  • insurmountably
  • insurmountableness
  • surmountableness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ewp- →