Where does “thinkable” come from?
Thinkable comes from Middle English -able, Old French -able, Latin -abilis, and Proto-Indo-European teng-, ultimately from the same root meaning to think or perceive.
thinkable (English): Able to be thought or imagined; conceivable;...
Definitions
- Able to be thought or imagined; conceivable;...
Ancestry of “thinkable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -able | An adjectival suffix; forms adjectives meaning |
| 2 | Middle English | -able | able |
| 3 | Old French | -able | worthy of, deserving of; -ing, creating an... |
| 4 | Latin | -ābilis | suffixed to noun to form adjectives meaning "able to have or bring, prone to have or bring, having the power to have or bring": -able |