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compatible

Etymology and origin of the English word compatible

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1459
Borrowed from
Middle French compatible
Ultimate origin
Medieval Latin (compatibilis)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /kəmˈpæt.ə.bəl/, US /kəmˈpæt̬.ə.bəl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French compatible,[2][3][4] from Medieval Latin compatibilis,[2][5] from Late Latin compatī, to suffer with, have compassion (see compassion).[2][5][4] In Medieval Latin a beneficium compatibile was a church benefice that could be held together with another.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Sympathetic, sharing in suffering: 1459 in Barnhart, 1490 in the OED, now obsolete.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The meaning able to exist together is first recorded in 1532, in Thomas More,[2][6] and of church benefices, able to be held together, from 1559.[6] Technical and scientific uses, as of blood or of grafts, are from 1899.[6][7] Of computers and other devices, able to work with each other, is a modern sense.[8][7] Compatibility is from 1611, in Cotgrave.[2]

Timeline

  • 1459 – sympathetic.[2]
  • 1532 – able to coexist.[2][6]
  • 1559 – of benefices.[6]
  • 1611 – compatibility.[2]
  • 1899 – scientific uses.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Able to exist or live together without conflict.
  2. Consistent or in agreement: compatible with the facts.
  3. Of equipment or software, able to work with another device or system.
  4. Of blood, tissue or plants, able to combine without rejection.

Word family

  • compatibility
  • compatibly
  • compatibleness

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 f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Compatible.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/compatible. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·