-able

• -ible (not productive)

Inherited from Middle English -able, borrowed from Old French -able, from Latin -ābilis, from -a- or -i- + -bilis (“capable or worthy of being acted upon”), from Proto-Indo-European i-stem form *-dʰli- of *-dʰlom (“instrumental suffix”). Not closely related etymologically, though currently related semantically, to able. Displaced native Old English -endlīc.

• (US) IPA^(key): /ə.bl̩/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

-able

1. An adjectival suffix; forms adjectives meaning:
   1. Able to be done; fit to be done.

      movable: able to be moved

      amendable: able to be amended

      breakable: liable to broken

      blamable: fit to be blamed

      salable: fit to be sold

   2. Relevant to or suitable to, in accordance with.

      fashionable: relevant to fashion

      seasonable: suitable to season

   3. Giving, or inclined to.

      pleasurable: giving pleasure

      peaceable: inclined to peace

   4. Subject to.

      reportable: subject to be reported

      taxable: subject to be taxed

   5. Due to be.

      payable: due to be paid

• Originally appeared only on French and Latin words, like separable. Over time -able was added to stems of English verbs ending in -ate, such as educable. Finally, due to probable confusion with the word able, it was used to form adjectives from all sorts of verbs, nouns, and even verb phrases, such as kickable, get-at-able, and hittable.
• A terminal silent -e is often dropped when adding -able, but for roots ending with a soft -ce or -ge, such as replaceable and changeable, the -e is kept so that these are not misinterpreted as hard ‘c’ or ‘g’ sounds. Similar spelling patterns apply to some other suffixes beginning with a vowel, such as -ous in famous vs. courageous.
• The final consonant of a root is doubled in the same contexts as when adding the suffix -ed. In general, this means doubling occurs when the preceding vowel is short and stressed (as in winnable) but not when it is long (as in obtainable) or unstressed (as in openable). In British English, a final L is typically doubled after a short vowel regardless of whether the vowel is stressed or unstressed (as in compellable, modellable). In American English, final L typically follows the same rules as other consonants (as in compellable, modelable). These are the general trends, but there is some variation within British and American English between these two methods of doubling final L.
• The form -ible usually has the same senses and pronunciation, though sometimes equivalent terms have diverged in meaning: compare suggestable (“capable of being suggested”) with suggestible (“susceptible to influence by suggestion”). The choice between the two is somewhat idiosyncratic, but in general, -ible is used in forms derived from Latin verbs of the second, third, and fourth conjugations, and in a few words whose roots end in a soft c or g, while -able is used in all other words, particularly those formed from Latin verbs of the first conjugation and those that come from French or from Anglo-Saxon (Old English). Fowler's English Usage recommends using -ible for simplicity's sake in any word whose root ends in a soft c or g to avoid -eable (e.g., *changible rather than changeable), but this recommendation has generally not been followed.
• A number of adjectives in -able come from verbs that do not have direct objects, but that rather are construed with prepositions. In these cases, the preposition does not appear with the adjective in -able; hence, reliable (“fit to being relied on”), laughable (“suited for laughing at”), remarkable (“fit to be remarked upon”), and so on.
• Traditionally, verbs ending in -ate drop this suffix before adding -able; hence, communicable (“able to be communicated”), eradicable (“possible to eradicate”), implacable (“unable to be placated”), inimitable (“unable to be imitated”), and so on, but relatable, because relate is re- + -late, not rel- + -ate. Logically one should therefore say rotable to mean "able to be rotated", but rotatable has become accepted.
• There are cases where a word with un- -able is much more common than one with just -able, such as unbreakable, unsinkable, and untouchable.

• Abel, Bale, Beal, Blea, Ebla, Elba, albe, bael, bale, beal, blea

From Latin -ābilis.

• IPA^(key): /ˈable/ [ˈa.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: -a‧ble

-able (epicene, adjective-forming suffix, plural -ables)

1. -able

Derived from Latin -ābilis.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈa.ble]

-able m or f (adjective-forming suffix, masculine and feminine plural -ables)

1. -able

• This suffix is used for verbs of the first conjugation, which end in -ar and are the most common. For other verbs, the suffix is -ible.

• “-able” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Inherited from Middle French -able, from Old French -able, from Latin -ābilis.

• IPA^(key): /abl/

• Audio:

  (file)

-able (plural -ables)

1. -able

• -ábel

Inherited from Latin -ābilis.

-able m or f (adjective-forming suffix, plural -ables)

1. -able

From

.

• -abell, -abil, -abile, -abill, -abul, -abull, -abyl, -abyll

Borrowed from Old French -able, from Latin -ābilis.

• IPA^(key): /-ˈaːbəl/, /-ˈaːblə/

-able

1. Forming adjectives denoting ability, relevance or inclination; -able.

• English: -able
• Scots: -able

• “-āble, adj. suf.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Inherited from Old French -able, from Latin -ābilis.

-able (plural -ables)

1. -able

• French: -able

• “-able”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (-able)

• -abel
• -abelt

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑːblə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːblə
• Hyphenation: ab‧le

-able

1. singular definite & plural form of -abel

• bale, bela

Inherited from Latin -ābilis.

-able (plural -ables)

1. worthy of, deserving of

   ‎honorer (“to honor”) + ‎-able → ‎honnorable (“honorable”)

2. -ing, creating an effect, an influence

   ‎forsener (“to become insane or enraged”) + ‎-able → ‎forsenable (“maddening”)

• Middle French: -able
  • French: -able
• → Middle English: -able
  • English: -able
  • Scots: -able

• “-able”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (-able)
• -able on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
• http://zeus.atilf.fr/scripts/dmfX.exe?IDF=dmfXaabb;ISIS=isis_dmfL.txt;s=s14033bb8;XMODE=STELLa

Inherited from Old Spanish -abile, from Latin -ābilis.

• IPA^(key): /ˈable/ [ˈa.β̞le]

• Audio (Costa Rica):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: -a‧ble

-able m or f (adjective-forming suffix, masculine and feminine plural -ables)

1. -able

• “-able”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10