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plausibilis

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word plausibilis

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC Cicero More words from the 1st century BC
Ultimate origin
Latin plaudō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin plaudō
Latin plausibilis
English plausible
From the same root
Latin applaudō ← plaudō
Latin complōdō ← plaudō
Latin explōdō ← plaudō
Latin plausus ← plaudō

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [pɫau̯ˈsɪ.bɪ.lɪs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [plau̯ˈsiː.bi.lis][1]

Forms

plausibilis (neuter plausibile); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin plaudō (“to clap, applaud”) + -bilis,[2] built on the participle stem ⟨plaus-⟩, as Priscian and Eutyches already noted.[3][1] De Vaan traces the verb to Proto-Italic *plau-d-e/o- (“to clap the hands”), from Proto-Indo-European *plh₂-u- (“palm of the hand, sole of the foot”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Cicero,[5] who calls the name of censor popular and likely to win applause.[6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant likely to win applause, praiseworthy or pleasing,[2][6] as of a speech in Seneca or a passage in Quintilian.[6] Cicero pairs it with vulgāris “popular”.[3] An adverb plausibiliter, “with applause”, is post-Classical.[6]

English took it over in the 1540s as plausible, at first meaning “acceptable, deserving applause”; the sense “seemingly true” came later in English.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the name of censor.[6][5]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of a speech.[6][5]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of a passage in a speech.[6][5]
  • 1540s – English borrows it as plausible.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Likely or able to win applause; praiseworthy, popular.[2][6]
  2. Acceptable, pleasing.[6]

Word family

  • plausibiliter

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Plausibilis.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/plausibilis. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·