Etymologically
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capabilis

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Forms

capābilis (neuter capābile); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin capiō (“to take, hold, grasp”) + -ābilis.[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Augustine,[4] who uses it in the passive sense, “able to be grasped”.[5][2][6] It is also found in Irenaeus, of something able to receive God's thought.[3]

Semantic evolution

Christian writers set it beside capax: Jerome says God is capabilis but not capax, and Bede defines capax as what easily takes and capabilis as what is easily taken.[3][7][8] With the genitive it means capable of, liable to: Cassiodorus has malitiae capabilis “capable of wickedness”.[5][6][2] A letter on Alexander calls elephants fit for use in war.[3] In Medieval Latin it could mean able to be received, as the Holy Spirit is received by the soul in Rupert of Deutz, or, actively, able to grasp, intelligent.[9][10] English capable comes from French capable or from this Late Latin word, used by theologians.[11]

Timeline

  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it for “graspable”.[4][2]
  • c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses it with a genitive, “capable of”.[5][4]
  • first third of the 8th century – Bede contrasts it with capax.[7][4]
  • 1590s – English capable is borrowed from French or from this word.[11]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (Late Latin) Able to be grasped, comprehensible.[5][2][1]
  2. (Late Latin) Capable (of), susceptible (of), with the genitive.[5][2][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Able to be received.[9][10]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Able to grasp, intelligent.[10][1]

Word family

  • incapabilis

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  8. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  9. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  10. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com