Etymologically
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taxable

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈtæksəbəl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English taxāble,[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman taxable,[3][2][4][5] recorded in Anglo-Norman from the late 13th century;[6] the MED and Etymonline compare Medieval Latin taxābilis.[2][5] Later it was also understood as from English tax + -able;[4][5] Merriam-Webster derives it from the Middle English verb taxen (“to tax”).[7] The verb tax is from Old French taxer (“to impose a tax”) and directly from Latin taxō (“to evaluate, assess; to censure”), probably from tangō (“to touch”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Liable to be assessed for a tax or charge: 1474, in the Rolls of Parliament.[3][2] Etymonline dates it to the late 15th century.[5]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, "assessable", was obsolete by 1569; from 1583 the word meant "liable to be taxed", the main modern sense.[3] Like the Latin verb behind it, it once also meant "chargeable with a fault, blameworthy" (1610–1792).[3][7][5] Johnson (1755) defined it simply as "that may be taxed".[8] In law, costs or fees are taxable when a court officer can assess or reduce them (from 1828, in Webster's dictionary).[3][7] The noun, a person or thing subject to tax, usually in the plural, began in the United States in 1662.[3][9]

Timeline

  • 1474 – liable to be assessed (obsolete by 1569).[3][2]
  • 1583 – liable to be taxed; subject to a tax.[3]
  • 1610 – blameworthy, censurable (obsolete by 1792).[3]
  • 1662 – noun, a person or thing subject to tax.[3]
  • 1828 – in law, of costs that can be assessed by a court.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Subject to tax; able to be taxed: taxable income.[9][7][3]
  2. (law) Of costs in a lawsuit: able to be charged against a party, or assessed by the court.[7][3]
  3. (obsolete, 1610–1792) Blameworthy, censurable.[7][3]

Noun

  1. (chiefly US) A person, income or property subject to tax; usually in the plural.[9][7][3]

Word family

  • taxability
  • taxably
  • untaxable
  • nontaxable

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins