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capable

Etymology and origin of the English word capable

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1561
Borrowed from
Middle French capable
Ultimate origin
Latin (capere)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkeɪ.pə.bəl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French capable (“able, sufficient; able to hold”),[2][3] or taken directly from Late Latin capābilis (“receptive; able to grasp or hold”), a word of the theologians,[2][3] formed irregularly from Latin capere (“to take, grasp, contain”),[4][2] from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grasp”).[2] It is related to capacity, captive, accept and receive.[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Able to take in with the mind or senses, to perceive or understand”: 1561 in the OED and Barnhart.[6][3] “Able to take in, hold or contain” is from 1571,[6] the first known use in Merriam-Webster Unabridged.[4]

Semantic evolution

The earliest senses were about holding: capacious, roomy, from 1594, and comprehensive, from 1592, both obsolete.[6] The modern sense, having the power or fitness for a purpose, is from 1597,[6] the 1590s in Etymonline.[2] The sense “open to, admitting of”, as in a remark capable of being misunderstood, is also from 1597.[6][7] Capability was formed in English in 1587.[3]

Timeline

  • 1561 – able to perceive.[6][3]
  • 1571 – able to contain.[6]
  • 1587 – capability.[3]
  • 1594 – roomy.[6]
  • 1597 – having the power or fitness for something.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Having ability; competent and efficient.
  2. Having what is needed for a particular task; qualified.
  3. Having the disposition: capable of murder.
  4. Open to; admitting of: a remark capable of being misunderstood.

Word family

  • capableness
  • capably
  • capability
  • incapable
  • uncapable

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 e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Capable.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/capable. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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