Where does “unlearnable” come from?
unlearnable (English) comes 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, from Proto-Indo-European -lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
unlearnable (English): Not able to be learned; Able to be unlearned
Definitions
- Not able to be learned; Able to be unlearned
Ancestry of “unlearnable”, step by step
unlearnable traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English able
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | able | Easy to use; Suitable; competent; Liable to |
| 2 | Middle English | able | capable, expert, qualified, skilful, competent |
| 3 | Old French | able | able; capable |
| 4 | Latin | habilis | able to have/possess/maintain; having sufficient... |
| 5 | Latin | -ilis | -ile |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -elis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -elis | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |
via English unlearn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | unlearn | To discard the knowledge of; To break a habit |
| 2 | English | un- | not; absent; lacking; not; negative; contrary to... |
| 3 | Middle English | un- | — |
| 4 | Old English | un- | negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | n̥- | not, un- |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ne | not |
via English learnable
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | learnable | That can be learned; Something that can be... |
| 2 | English | -able | An adjectival suffix; forms adjectives meaning |
| 3 | Middle English | -able | able |
| 4 | Old French | -able | worthy of, deserving of; -ing, creating an... |
| 5 | 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 |