approachable

Etymology

It is formed from English approach + -able,^[2][3][4][5] and the OED compares French approchable.^[2] The verb approach is from Old French aprochier (“to come closer”),^[3][6][2] from Late Latin appropiō (“to go nearer to”),^[3][6] formed from Latin ad (“to”) and propius (“nearer”), the comparative of prope (“near”).^[3][6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Capable of being approached; accessible: before 1560, in L. Digges's Pantometria, published in 1571.^[2] The 1989 edition of the OED and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate gave 1571,^[7][8] Merriam-Webster Unabridged about 1560 and Etymonline the 1570s.^[9][3]

Semantic evolution

Figurative uses, following those of the verb, are recorded from 1611, in Cotgrave's French–English dictionary;^[2][10] Etymonline dates the sense "affable, friendly" to the 1610s.^[3] The Historical Thesaurus files this sense among words for a person who is warm or friendly in manner and can be approached.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1560 – capable of being approached; accessible.^[2][9]
• 1611 – figurative; of a person, easy to approach, affable.^[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Able to be reached or approached; accessible: The cove is approachable only at low tide.^{[9][6][11][2]}
2. Of a person, friendly and easy to talk to or deal with: The new manager is very approachable.^[9][6][11]

Word family

• approachability
• inapproachable
• unapproachable

Related words

• approach

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins