able English · revision 2017

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=early 14th century|origins=ine-pro *ghabh-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈeɪ.bəl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|able]], [[bor|fro|able]] or [[m|fro|hable|t=capable, fitting, nimble]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|habilis|t=easily handled, apt]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|habēre|t=to have, hold]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) from [[ine-pro|*ghabh-|t=to give or receive]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) Merriam-Webster gives the route through Anglo-French.^(MW Collegiate) The ''h'' never took hold in English, though scholars tried to restore it in the 16th and 17th centuries;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) instead [[habile]] was refashioned from Latin in the 15th century and survives as a separate word, a doublet of ''able''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) The suffix [[-able]] is a different word, though influenced by this one.^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Having sufficient power or means: early 14th century according to Etymonline,^(Etymonline) about 1375 according to Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) It also meant “easy to handle or use” and “suitable”.^(Cresswell 2021)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The senses “easy to handle” and “suitable, competent” lasted into the 18th century.^(SOED 2002) The sense “gifted, talented” is from 1520,^(HTOED) and a regional sense “wealthy, influential” from 1516, now confined to northern English.^(HTOED) A verb ''able'' “to make fit, enable, empower” and also “to dress” was used from Middle English into the 19th century.^(SOED 2002)^(HTOED) In the phonetic alphabet of the Second World War ''Able'' stood for the letter A (1942).^(HTOED)^(MWU 2024) Derivatives such as ''habilitate'' kept the ''h'', but ''ability'' lost it.^(Barnhart 1988) The jargon ''abled'', as in ''differently abled'', was formed in the 1980s from ''disabled''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 14th century – having power or means.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1375 – Barnhart's first date.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 15th century – ''habile'' refashioned from Latin.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1516 – wealthy, influential.^(HTOED)

+ * 1520 – gifted, talented.^(HTOED)

+ * 1942 – ''Able'', the letter A in signalling.^(HTOED)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1980s – ''differently abled''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having the power, skill or means to do something: ''able to swim''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Especially capable or [[talent|alt=talented]].^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ably]]

+ * [[ability]]

+ * [[able-bodied]]

+ * [[ableism]]

+ * [[aiblins]]

+ * [[disability]]

+ * [[disable]]

+ * [[disabled]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[-able]]

+ * [[-ible]]

+ * [[habile]]

+ * [[habit]]

+ * [[enable]]

+ * [[unable]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ RHWU distinguishes ''able'', having the power to do what is needed, from ''capable'', able to meet ordinary requirements, and ''competent'', able to meet demands fully and satisfactorily.^(RHWU) The AHD advises against ''able to'' where no ability is really being ascribed to the subject, as in some passive constructions.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}