readable

Etymology

It is formed from English read + -able,^[2][3][4][5] first as inherited from Middle English redable,^[6][3] originally after Medieval Latin legibilis (“legible”).^[2] The verb goes back to Old English rǣdan (“to advise, counsel; to read”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Legible: before 1425, in the Medulla Grammatice, a Latin–English glossary, where it glosses Latin legibilis.^[2][6] Etymonline dates it to the early 15th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

For three centuries the word meant only "legible".^[2] From 1738 it was used of writing that is easy, pleasant or interesting to read,^[2] a sense Etymonline dates from 1771;^[3] the Shorter Oxford places it in the late 18th century.^[4] Later extensions include something whose character can be discerned or understood (1891), a telegraph or radio signal that registers on a receiver (1859) and, in computing, data or a medium that a machine can process (1960).^[2] As a noun, readables, readable works, is recorded from 1848, in Thoreau.^[2][4]

Timeline

• before 1425 – legible.^[2][6]
• 1738 – easy or enjoyable to read.^[2]
• 1848 – noun, a readable work.^[2]
• 1859 – of a telegraph signal, receivable.^[2]
• 1891 – discernible, understandable.^[2]
• 1960 – in computing, able to be processed by a machine.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Easy or pleasant to read; interesting or written in a lively style: a readable history of the railways.^[7][2][4]
2. Able to be read; legible: Her notes were barely readable.^[7][2][4]
3. Of data or a storage medium, able to be read by a computer or other device; machine-readable.^[2]
4. Of a map, clear in its detail and the meaning of its symbols.^[7]

Noun

1. A readable book or other work.^[2][4]

Word family

• readability
• readably
• readableness
• nonreadable

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 o p q 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 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
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c 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)
7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster