accessibility

Etymology

It is formed from English accessible + -ity,^[2][3] but Etymonline allows that it may instead come from French accessibilité,^[3] which the OED records from 1630; the OED also compares Late Latin accessibilitās, used by Tertullian in the early 3rd century.^[2] Accessible is from Middle French accessible (“that can be reached or entered”) and Late Latin accessibilis (“approachable”),^[2][3] from the past participle stem of Latin accēdō (“to approach, come near, enter upon”), the source of accede and access.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The quality of being accessible: 1734, in the pamphlet Reasons for the Neutrality of Great-Britain.^[2][4] Etymonline dates the word from 1758, as "condition or quality of admitting approach".^[3]

Semantic evolution

The noun follows the senses of the adjective accessible.^[2] The adjective, recorded from before 1425, first meant able to be reached or entered; it was used of approachable people from 1581, of things that can be obtained or used from 1674, and of writing or art that is easy to understand from 1681.^[2][3] The OED's first edition defined accessibility as the quality of admitting approach, and figuratively as openness to influence.^[5] In the 20th century accessible came to mean, originally in the United States, easy for people with disabilities to enter or use (1957),^[2][6] and Wiktionary records accessibility for the features of software that make it usable by people with impairments.^[1]

Timeline

• before 1425 – the adjective accessible, able to be reached or entered.^[2]
• 1734 – accessibility, the quality of being accessible.^[2][4]
• 1758 – the date Etymonline gives for the noun.^[3]
• 1957 – accessible of buildings and services usable by people with disabilities, originally in the US.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The quality of being accessible: easy to reach, enter, obtain or use: The new bridge improved the accessibility of the island.^[4][2][1]
2. The quality of being easy for people with disabilities to enter or use, said of buildings, services and software.^[1][2]
3. The quality of being easy to approach or deal with, or of being open to influence; receptiveness.^[5][1]

Word family

• unaccessibility

Related words

• accessible
• access
• accede
• inaccessibility

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins