relatable

Etymology

It is formed from English relate + -able.^[1][2][3] The verb relate is from Middle French relater (“to report, recount”) and relātus, the past participle of referō (“to bring back”),^[1][3] the source of refer.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Able to be told or narrated: about 1720.^[1] Etymonline dates this sense to 1825.^[3]

Semantic evolution

From 1868, in A. E. Kroeger's translation of Fichte, it meant able to be brought into relation or connected with something else,^[1][2] the sense Merriam-Webster gives first.^[2] The newest sense, with which one can identify or sympathize, is recorded from 1965^[1] and comes from relate to, to feel connected with, which Etymonline dates to 1950 and calls psychology jargon at first.^[3] Collins and the Oxford Dictionary of English record it as a current sense: a flawed but relatable hero.^[4][5]

Timeline

• c. 1720 – able to be told or narrated.^[1]
• 1825 – narrated.^[3]
• 1868 – able to be connected with something else.^[1][2]
• 1965 – with which one can identify or empathize.^[1]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Easy to identify or empathize with; making a person feel an emotional connection: a shy, relatable narrator.^[4][5][1]
2. Able to be connected with or shown to be related to something else: symptoms relatable to the change in diet.^[2][5][1]
3. Able to be told or narrated.^[1][3]

Related words

• relate
• relation
• relative
• refer

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press