Etymologically
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accessible

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French accessible and directly borrowed from Late Latin accessibilis,[2][3][4] from Latin accessus (“an approach, entrance”), from accēdere (“to approach, come near”) (see accede).[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Capable of being approached or reached: about 1400 in Etymonline;[2] affording entrance, 1610 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

Easy to reach or enter is from the 1640s (1642 in the OED).[2][6] Open to an influence is from 1818.[6] Of art or writing, easily understood, is by 1961.[2][6] Usable by people with disabilities is a later sense.[7][8]

Timeline

  • c. 1400 – capable of being reached.[2]
  • 1642 – easy of access.[6]
  • 1818 – open to an influence.[6]
  • 1961 – easy to understand.[2][6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Able to be reached or entered easily.
  2. Easy to obtain or use: accessible information.
  3. Easily understood or appreciated.
  4. Usable by people with disabilities.

Word family

  • accessibility
  • accessibly
  • accessibleness
  • nonaccessible
  • unaccessible

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins