Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “voluble” come from?

Voluble derives from Middle French volubile, from Latin volubilis meaning "rolling or turning," from Latin volvo meaning "to roll," tracing to Proto-Indo-European wel- and welH-.

voluble (English): Fluent or having a ready flow of speech;...

Definitions

  1. Fluent or having a ready flow of speech;...

Ancestry of “voluble”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchvolubileinconstant, variable; changeable; movable; moving
2Latinvolūbilis—
3Latin-bilis-ble
4Proto-Italic-ðlis—
5Proto-Indo-European-dʰlis—
6Proto-Indo-European-dʰlomAlternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;...

Words derived from “voluble”

  • volubility
  • volubly
  • volubleness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlom →