Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “variable” come from?

Variable comes from Old French variable, from Latin variāre meaning to change or differ, derived from Latin varius meaning diverse or varied.

variable (English): Able to vary or be varied; Likely to vary; Marked...

Definitions

  1. Able to vary or be varied; Likely to vary; Marked...

Ancestry of “variable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchvariable—
2Latinvariāre—
3Latinvariusdiverse, different, various, variegated
4Latinvārus—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂wer-to lift up; to moisten; to flow; to raise, hang
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwēr-true
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

Words derived from “variable”

  • invariably
  • variability
  • invariable
  • variably
  • multivariable
  • variableness
  • hypervariable
  • invariableness
  • invar
  • semivariable
  • unvariable
  • variac
  • metavariable
  • covariability
  • covariable
  • variadic
  • hypervariability
  • univariable
  • pseudovariable
  • microvariability
  • bivariable
  • eigenvariable
  • intervariable
  • supervariable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →