Where does “portable” come from?
portable (Middle English) comes from Latin portabilis, from Latin -bilis, from Proto-Italic -ðlis, from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlis, from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlom — Alternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;...
Ancestry of “portable”, step by step
portable traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin portabilis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | portabilis | portable, capable of being carried |
| 2 | Latin | -bilis | -ble |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | -ðlis | Forms adjectives from verb stems indicating capacity or worth of being acted on |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlis | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlom | Alternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;... |
via Middle French portable
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle French | portable | — |