Where does “able” come from?

able (Old French) comes 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.

able (Old French): able; capable

Definitions

  1. able; capable

Ancestry of “able”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinhabilisable to have/possess/maintain; having sufficient...
2Latin-ilis-ile
3Proto-Italic-elis—
4Proto-Indo-European-elis—
5Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “able”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →Every word from Latin -ilis →Every word from Latin habilis →
able — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer