Etymologically
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eligible

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:43. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈel.ɪ.dʒə.bəl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French éligible (“fit to be chosen”),[2][3][4] a learned borrowing of Late Latin ēligibilis (“that may be chosen”),[2][3][5] from Latin ēligere (“to choose, select”) (see elect) and the suffix -ibilis (see -ible).[2][6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fit or proper to be chosen: probably before 1425 in Barnhart, the early 15th century in Etymonline;[2][4] the OED's earliest example of fitness for an office or position is from 1561.[7]

Semantic evolution

Fit or deserving to be chosen or adopted, of things as well as people, is from 1603,[7] and, as a weakening of this, desirable or acceptable from 1761.[7] The sense of a desirable marriage partner, as in an eligible bachelor, belongs here.[8][9] As a plural noun, eligible persons or things, it is from 1844.[7] In American football an eligible receiver is one allowed by the rules to catch a forward pass.[8] Eligibility is from 1650.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1425 – fit to be chosen.[2][4]
  • 1561 – fit for an office.[7]
  • 1603 – deserving to be chosen.[7]
  • 1650 – eligibility.[2]
  • 1761 – desirable, acceptable.[7]
  • 1844 – eligibles, as a noun.[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Qualified or entitled to be chosen or to take part: eligible to vote.
  2. Desirable and suitable, especially as a husband or wife.

Word family

  • eligibility
  • eligibly
  • noneligible
  • reeligible
  • supereligible

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 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 c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins