Etymologically
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profitable

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 02:48. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈpɹɒf.ɪ.tə.bl̩/ (UK); /ˈpɹɑ.fɪ.tə.bl̩/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English, borrowed from Old French profitable, porfitable,[2][3][4] from profiter, to profit (see profit), with the suffix -able,[5][2] or formed in English from the verb profit.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Yielding spiritual or moral benefit, useful: about 1300 in Etymonline, about 1325 in the OED.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Advantageous, expedient, helpful is from the mid-14th century.[2] The specific sense, money-making, lucrative, is attested from 1758.[2][6] As an adverb, profitably, it was used rarely from 1654.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – beneficial.[2]
  • mid-14th century – advantageous.[2]
  • 1758 – lucrative.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Yielding financial profit; lucrative.
  2. Beneficial or useful; advantageous.

Word family

  • profitability
  • profitably
  • profitableness
  • subprofitable
  • unprofitable
  • nonprofitable

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press