Etymologically
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questionable

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:50. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˈkwɛst͡ʃənəbl̩/[1]

Etymology

It was formed from English question + -able within the language.[2][3][4][5] According to the OED its first example is based on the noun question, and later uses on the verb.[2] Johnson (1755) also derived it from question.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a thing or fact, open to question or dispute; doubtful, uncertain: 1443, in a document printed in the Highland Papers.[2][7] Merriam-Webster gives the 15th century,[8] while Etymonline dates the word to the 1580s, with this sense from about 1600,[3] and Dictionary.com to 1580–90.[5]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th and 17th centuries the suffix -able sometimes kept its full sense, "able to be questioned": of a question that may be asked (1590), of a person who may be questioned (1603, in Hamlet), and of a place where questions may easily be asked (1608); all of these are now obsolete.[2][7] Etymonline gives "that may be interrogated" as the 1580s sense.[3] From 1639 to 1685 it meant liable to be called to account in law.[2][7] Johnson (1755) defined it as doubtful, disputable.[6] The disparaging sense, of doubtful character or not clearly honest or respectable, is recorded from 1788 in the OED;[2][7] Etymonline dates it to 1806.[3] In American sports writing since 1941 a player described as questionable is unlikely to play, usually because of injury.[2][7]

Timeline

  • 1443 – open to question or dispute; doubtful.[2]
  • 1590 – of a question, that may be asked (obsolete).[2]
  • 1603 – of a person, that may be questioned, in Hamlet (obsolete).[2]
  • 1611 – of doubtful or obscure meaning (obsolete, rare).[2]
  • 1639 – liable to be called to account in law (obsolete).[2]
  • 1788 – of doubtful honesty, respectability or quality.[2]
  • 1941 – (US sports) unlikely to play in a coming game.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Open to doubt or dispute; not certain or proven: It is questionable whether the plan will save any money.
  2. Of doubtful honesty, morality or respectability; dubious: a lawyer with questionable methods.
  3. Of doubtful value, quality or authority: a questionable translation.
  4. (US, sports) Of a player, unlikely to take part in a forthcoming game, usually because of injury.

Word family

  • questionableness
  • questionably
  • unquestionable

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ 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 Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  7. ^ a b c d e Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster