preventable

Etymology

It is formed from English prevent + -able.^[1][2] The OED notes that unpreventable, recorded from 1601, is slightly earlier.^[1] Etymonline derives the verb prevent from Latin praeventus, the past participle of praeveniō (“to come before, anticipate, hinder”), from prae- (“before”) and veniō (“to come”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

That can be prevented; avoidable: 1602, in William Temple's Antiquodlibet.^[1] Etymonline dates the word to the 1630s, glossing it "that can be prevented or hindered".^[2]

Semantic evolution

The verb, recorded from about 1425, first meant to act before or more quickly than someone, to anticipate;^[1][2] the meaning "to keep from happening" appears by the 1540s, and "to hinder from acting by putting obstacles in the way", though already Latin, only in the 1660s.^[2] Preventable has always meant "avoidable".^[1] Webster (1828) defined it as "that may be prevented or hindered".^[3] Merriam-Webster also records the less common spelling preventible.^[4][5]

Timeline

• 1602 – that can be prevented, avoidable.^[1] Etymonline dates the word to the 1630s.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Able to be prevented; avoidable: Most of these injuries were preventable.^[4][1][5]

Word family

• nonpreventable
• unpreventable

Related words

• prevent
• prevention
• preventive

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Webster, Noah (1828), An American Dictionary of the English Language, New York: S. Converse
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam