printable

Etymology

It is formed from English print + -able.^[2][3][4] The verb print comes from the noun, which is from Old French preinte (“impression”), the feminine past participle of preindre (“to press”), from Latin premō (“to press”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Capable of being printed, fit to print: 1827, in Lady Morgan's novel The O'Briens and the O'Flahertys.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also gives 1827,^[5] while Etymonline dates the sense to 1820^[3] and Dictionary.com the word to 1830–40.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The sense "fit to be published", especially of language or statements that would be acceptable in print as to decency, is part of the OED's first sense;^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1838.^[3] From 1860, in The Times, the word also meant capable of being printed from, as of a plate or paper.^[2]

Timeline

• 1827 – capable of being printed; fit to print.^[2][5]
• 1838 – fit to be published.^[3]
• 1860 – capable of being printed from.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Fit to be published, because free of offensive or objectionable matter: Little of what the coach said after the game was printable.^[6][5][2]
2. Capable of being printed.^[6][5][2]
3. Capable of being printed from, or of producing a print: printable paper.^[5][2][6]

Word family

• printability

Related words

• print
• unprintable

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins