admissible

Etymology

It is borrowed from French admissible, recorded in Middle French from 1453,^[2][3][4] itself from Medieval Latin admissibilis, used from the 14th century in Britain and on the Continent,^[2][5] formed from admissus, the past participle of admittō (“to allow to enter, admit”), and the suffix -ibilis.^[2][5][6] The Latin verb is from ad- (“to”) and mittō (“to let go, send”).^[3] The Oxford Dictionary of English takes the word directly from Medieval Latin,^[7] and the Shorter Oxford allows either source.^[8] The OED compares the earlier admittable and admissable,^[2] which Merriam-Webster Unabridged treats as an alteration of admissible.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Worthy of being considered or accepted, valid: 1611, in Cotgrave's French–English dictionary.^[2][6][5] Etymonline gives the 1610s, as "allowable".^[3]

Semantic evolution

The first sense concerned ideas and plans.^[8] Johnson (1755) defined the word simply as what may be admitted, and quoted Hale on a supposition that was admissible.^[9] The legal sense, of evidence acceptable in court, appears in the revised OED from 1639, in Balcanquhall's Large Declaration,^[2] but Etymonline dates it by 1849 and the Shorter Oxford to the mid-19th century.^[3][8] The sense "able or entitled to be admitted" to a place or office is recorded by the OED from 1645,^[2] by Etymonline from 1775 and by the Shorter Oxford from the late 18th century.^[3][8]

Timeline

• 1611 – worthy of consideration or approval; acceptable, valid.^[2][6]
• 1639 – in law, acceptable as evidence in court.^[2] Etymonline dates this sense by 1849.^[3]
• 1645 – capable of being admitted, or entitled to be admitted, to a place, institution or office.^[2] Etymonline dates this sense 1775.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Able or deserving to be considered or allowed; acceptable: Both readings of the clause seemed admissible to the committee.^[10][5][2]
2. (law) Of evidence, acceptable in a court.^[10][5][2]
3. Able or entitled to be admitted to a place, institution or office.^[10][5][2]

Word family

• admissibility
• admissibly
• nonadmissible
• unadmissible

Related words

• admission
• admit
• inadmissible
• admittable
• mission

References

1. ^ 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. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins