Etymologically
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payable

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈpeɪəbl̩/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English paiable,[2][3] formed from English pay + -able,[4][5][6] after Anglo-Norman paiable (“due to be paid”) and paiable, though Etymonline and Merriam-Webster allow a direct borrowing from French.[4][6][7] The Anglo-Norman word is recorded from 1272–3, also as a surname,[8] and Old French paiavle (1255) first meant "worth the price".[4] pay is from Old French paier, from Latin pācō (“to pacify, satisfy”), from pāx (“peace”).[6] The OED compares Medieval Latin pacabilis (“payable”), from 1225.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a sum of money, a tax or a bill, that is to be paid, due: 1394.[4] Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century,[6] and Merriam-Webster to the 14th.[7] As a surname, from the Old French sense "of good quality", it appears from the late 13th century.[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it as "due; to be paid", quoting Bacon on marriage money payable ten days after the wedding.[9] The sense "that can be paid, affordable" is recorded from 1692.[4] From 1617 to 1815 it could also describe a person, as due to be paid or able and willing to pay.[4] In 19th-century mining a payable mine or deposit was one that could be worked at a profit, which led to the general sense "profitable".[4][5] In the late 20th century the plural noun payables came into use for a business's debts, as the counterpart of receivables.[5]

Timeline

  • 1272 – Anglo-Norman paiable, due, also as a surname.[8]
  • 1394 – of a sum, to be paid, due.[4]
  • 1617 – of a person, due to be paid or able to pay (obsolete by 1815).[4]
  • 1692 – that can be paid, affordable.[4]
  • 1855 – of a mine, able to be worked at a profit.[4]
  • 1887 – profitable in general.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. That must be paid; due: The rent is payable on the first of the month.[7][4][5]
  2. Of a cheque or bill, to be paid to a named person, or at a stated time: a cheque payable to the school.[7][4]
  3. That can be paid: payable prices.[7][4]
  4. Of a mine or deposit, able to be worked at a profit.[4][5]

Noun

  1. payables (plural): debts owed by a business; liabilities.[5]

Word family

  • payability
  • payably
  • unpayable
  • account payable

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.