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noticeable

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Etymology and origin of the English word noticeable

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1753
Ultimate origins
Middle French noticeEnglish -able
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English notice
English noticeable

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈnəʊtɪsəbl̩/[1]
  • US: /ˈnoʊtɪsəbl̩/, /ˈnoʊtəsəbl̩/[1]

Etymology

It is from English notice + -able.[2][3][4][5] The OED and the Shorter Oxford derive it from the verb notice,[2][4] Etymonline from the noun.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Able to be noticed, perceptible: the OED's first quotation is from Samuel Richardson's Sir Charles Grandison of 1753,[2] the date Merriam-Webster gives too.[6] Etymonline dates the word to 1796 and this sense to 1809,[3] and Dictionary.com to 1790–1800.[5]

Semantic evolution

The second sense, worthy of notice or likely to attract attention, is recorded from 1793 in the OED[2][4] but only from 1796 in Etymonline, which takes it as the first.[3] The adverb noticeably and the noun noticeability (late 19th century) followed.[4][3]

Timeline

  • 1753 – able to be noticed, perceptible.[2][6]
  • 1793 – worthy of notice, conspicuous.[2]
  • late 19th century – noticeability.[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Easily seen or detected; perceptible: There was a noticeable chill in the air after sunset.
  2. Worthy of notice; likely to attract attention; conspicuous.

Word family

  • noticeability
  • noticeably
  • unnoticeable

Usage notes

Merriam-Webster contrasts noticeable, which applies to anything that is worth noticing or can hardly escape notice, with stronger near-synonyms such as remarkable, prominent, conspicuous and striking.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e 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 Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Noticeable.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/noticeable. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·