Etymologically
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wearable

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 23:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /wɛə̯ɹəbl̩/[1]
  • US: /wɛə̯ɹəbl̩/, /weɹəbl̩/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English wear + -able.[2][3][4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Able or fit to be worn: 1590, in J. Smythe's Certain Discourses on weapons.[2][4] Etymonline and Dictionary.com date it to the 1580s.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

As a noun, an article of clothing, usually in the plural, it is recorded from 1695 in the OED,[2] while Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date it to 1711.[3][4] In 1716 the adjective also meant durable, able to stand wear.[2] Of clothes and fashions it now often means easy or pleasant to wear.[2][7] In the 20th century it was applied to portable devices worn on the body (1934), and since the 1990s, as a noun, to such devices, especially ones with computer technology.[2][7]

Timeline

  • 1590 – able or fit to be worn.[2][4]
  • 1695 – noun, an article of clothing.[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster date the noun to 1711.[3][4]
  • 1716 – durable, able to stand wear.[2]
  • 1934 – of a portable device designed to be worn on the body.[2]
  • 1994 – noun, a wearable electronic device.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Able or suitable to be worn: a wearable camera.[4][7][2]
  2. Of clothing or a style, easy or comfortable to wear: The designer's spring collection was bold but wearable.[7][2]
  3. Of a device, designed to be worn on the body, especially one with built-in computer technology: wearable technology.[7][2]

Noun

  1. An article of clothing; usually in the plural, garments: She packed the summer wearables into a trunk.[4][7][2][5]
  2. A wearable electronic device, such as one that tracks the wearer's pulse.[7][2]

Word family

  • wearability

References

  1. ^ a b 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 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. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt