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believable

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Etymology and origin of the English word believable

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1382 before 1382, Wycliffite Bible (early version)
Ultimate origin
Old English belyfan
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English believe
English believable
Derivations
From the same root
English believer ← believe

Pronunciation

  • /bɪˈliːvəbl̩/, /bi-/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English believe + -able,[2][3] first as bilevable[4] or belevable,[5] modelled on Latin crēdibilis (“credible”).[2] Believe is from Middle English bileven, from Old English belyfan (“to have faith or confidence”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Able to be believed, credible: before 1382, in the early version of the Wycliffite Bible, where Psalm 92 has beleeuable for Latin credibilia.[2][4] The Middle English Dictionary glosses this use as "trustworthy".[4] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it as "credible; that which may be credited or believed".[6] From 1892 it was used of works of fiction and their characters, settings or plots, for "convincing, realistic",[2] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged also gives it the sense of inspiring trust or acceptance, as of an actor's portrayal.[5][7]

Timeline

  • before 1382 – able to be believed; credible.[2][4]
  • 1755 – Johnson: credible.[6]
  • 1892 – of fiction or its characters, convincing, realistic.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Able to be believed; credible or plausible: He gave a believable excuse for missing the meeting.[5][2]
  2. Convincing or realistic, especially of a work of fiction, a character or an actor's performance; inspiring trust: The villain is barely believable.[5][2][7]

Word family

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Derived terms

Cite this entry

“Believable.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/believable. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·