adjustable

Etymology

It is formed from English adjust + -able.^[2][3][4][5] The verb adjust is borrowed from Middle French adjuster, now ajuster, from a- and juste (“just”), according to the OED;^[2] Etymonline traces the older Middle English verb to Late Latin adiuxtō (“to bring near”), from iuxtā (“next, close by”), with its form influenced by a folk association with iūstus (“just”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Capable of being adjusted: 1768, in J. Stonhouse.^[2][4] Etymonline dates it from 1775,^[3] and Dictionary.com from 1765–75.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective follows the senses of the verb, but it is used above all of things whose position or setting can be changed, such as seats or tools.^[2][6] The noun adjustability is recorded in MWU and the Oxford Dictionary of English.^[4][6]

Timeline

• 1768 – able to be adjusted.^[2][4]
• 1775 – Etymonline's first date.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Able to be adjusted, set or altered to suit a need: an adjustable desk lamp.^[6][4][2]

Word family

• adjustably
• unadjustable
• nonadjustable
• adjustable spanner

Related words

• adjust
• adjustment
• just

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press