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fashionable

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Etymology and origin of the English word fashionable

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1585 J. Blagrave, Mathematical Jewel
Ultimate origins
Anglo-Norman fasunEnglish -able
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English fashion
English fashionable

Pronunciation

  • /ˈfæʃənəbl̩/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English fashion + -able,[2][3][4][5][6] partly from the verb and partly from the noun.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Capable of being fashioned, shaped or moulded: 1585, in Blagrave's Mathematical Jewel.[2] Merriam-Webster dates the word to about 1580,[6] Etymonline to about 1600,[3] and Dictionary.com to 1600–10.[5]

Semantic evolution

Senses from the noun fashion in its meaning "current style" appeared almost at once: of clothing or appearance in the latest fashion from 1588, of people who dress or behave accordingly from 1606, and of customs or opinions currently popular from 1614.[2] Etymonline dates the sense "stylish" to the 1620s.[3] In the early 17th century the word could also mean good-looking, a sense the OED records until 1882, and, in religious writing, having only an outward show.[2] Johnson (1755) gave "approved by custom; established by custom; modish".[7] From 1711, in Steele's Spectator, it was used of places and events frequented by people of fashion.[2] The noun followed: the fashionable, fashionable people as a class, in 1720, and a fashionable in 1770,[2] though Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the noun to about 1800.[3][6] The phrase fashionably late is recorded by 1809, in Maria Edgeworth.[3]

Timeline

  • 1585 – capable of being fashioned or shaped.[2]
  • 1588 – in accordance with current fashion.[2]
  • 1590 – good-looking (obsolete by 1882).[2]
  • 1606 – of a person, dressing or behaving according to fashion.[2]
  • 1614 – of a custom or opinion, generally accepted, popular.[2]
  • 1711 – of a place, frequented by people of fashion.[2]
  • 1720 – noun, the fashionable, fashionable people.[2]
  • 1809 – fashionably late.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. In keeping with current fashion or style; in vogue: a fashionable haircut.[8][6][2]
  2. Of a person, dressing or behaving according to the current fashion.[6][2]
  3. Of a place or event, used or visited by people of fashion: a fashionable restaurant.[8][6][2]
  4. Popular with a particular group, followed by with.[8]

Noun

  1. A fashionable person, usually in the plural.[6][2]

Word family

  • fashionability
  • fashionably
  • fashionableness
  • antifashionable
  • nonfashionable
  • ultrafashionable
  • unfashionable

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Fashionable.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/fashionable. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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