Etymologically
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available

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 13:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /əˈveɪ.lə.bᵊl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English avail + -able,[2][3][4] Middle English avayleable.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Legally valid: 1417.[6] Etymonline dates the senses “beneficial” and “valid, effective” to the mid-15th century.[2]

Semantic evolution

The early senses “effective” and “advantageous” lasted into the early 19th century,[6] and “valid” survives only in law.[3][7] The modern sense “at one's disposal, usable” is from 1800[6] or 1827.[2]

Timeline

  • 1417 – legally valid.[6]
  • 1444–1836 – advantageous.[6]
  • 1800 – usable, at hand.[6]
  • 1827 – at one's disposal.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Present and ready for use; at hand; accessible.
  2. Able to be obtained.
  3. Free and willing to serve or to be approached.
  4. (law) Valid, as of a plea.
  5. (archaic) Effective, beneficial.

Word family

  • availability
  • availably
  • availableness
  • interavailable
  • unavailable
  • available light
  • avail

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin