Etymologically
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visible

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈvɪz.ə.bəl/, /ˈvɪz.ɪ.bəl/, US /ˈvɪz.ə.bəl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English visible, borrowed from Old French visible and directly from Late Latin vīsibilis (“that may be seen”),[2][3][4] from vīsus, the past participle of vidēre (“to see”), and the suffix -ibilis.[2][5] See vision and wit.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Able to be seen: before 1340 in Barnhart and the OED, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

An Old English word for it was eagsyne.[3] Of actions and processes it is from 1560, and of the visible church, its outward organization, from 1590.[6] That may be perceived by the mind, evident, is from before 1613 in the OED, the 1610s in Etymonline.[6][3] Publicly prominent, well known, is from the 1950s.[3] In economics visible trade, in goods rather than services, is a later use.[7] Visibility is from 1581.[2]

Timeline

  • before 1340 – able to be seen.[2][6]
  • 1581 – visibility.[2]
  • 1590 – of the church.[6]
  • 1610s – evident to the mind.[3]
  • 1950s – publicly prominent.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Able to be seen.
  2. Easy to notice; obvious.
  3. Often seen by the public; prominent.
  4. (economics) Of trade in goods rather than services.

Word family

  • visibleness
  • visibly
  • nonvisible
  • subvisible
  • unvisible
  • visible spectrum
  • Visible Speech

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins