Where does “unflankable” come from?

unflankable (English) comes from English flankable, from English able, from Middle English able, from Old French able, from Latin habilis, from Latin -ilis, from Proto-Italic -elis, from Proto-Indo-European -elis — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.

unflankable (English): Unable to be flanked

Definitions

  1. Unable to be flanked

Ancestry of “unflankable”, step by step

unflankable traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English flankable

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishflankableAble to be flanked
2EnglishableEasy to use; Suitable; competent; Liable to
3Middle Englishablecapable, expert, qualified, skilful, competent
4Old Frenchableable; capable
5Latinhabilisable to have/possess/maintain; having sufficient...
6Latin-ilis-ile
7Proto-Italic-elis
8Proto-Indo-European-elis
9Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

via English un

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishunOne
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós