potabilis

Forms

pōtābilis (neuter pōtābile); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin pōtō (“to drink”) + -bilis.^[1][2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis and Short call it post-classical.^[4] The earliest author the dictionaries cite is Ausonius, in the phrase medico potabilis haustu (“drinkable as a medicinal draught”).^[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Late writers used it of medicines (Caelius Aurelianus) and of a spring of drinkable water (Ammianus Marcellinus).^[4][3][2] Medieval Latin kept it for drinking water,^[6] and Ecclesiastical Latin dictionaries gloss it “fit to drink”.^[7] Italian potabile continues the Late Latin word,^[8] and English took potable in the early 15th century from Old French and directly from Late Latin.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 310–394 AD – Ausonius has it of a medicinal draught.^[2][4][5]
• c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus uses it of a spring.^[2][8][5]
• 5th century AD – Caelius Aurelianus uses it of medicines.^[4][3][5]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as potable.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Drinkable, potable, fit to drink.^[4][2][7]

Word family

• impotabilis

Related words

• English potable

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 Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com