capable English · revision 4417

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1561|origins=la capere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|capable|t=able, sufficient; able to hold]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) or taken directly from [[la-lat|capābilis|t=receptive; able to grasp or hold]], a word of the theologians,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) formed irregularly from Latin [[m|la|capere|t=to take, grasp, contain]],^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*kap-|t=to grasp]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[capacity]], [[captive]], [[accept]] and [[receive]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Able to take in with the mind or senses, to perceive or understand”: 1561 in the OED and Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) “Able to take in, hold or contain” is from 1571,^(OED 1989) the first known use in Merriam-Webster Unabridged.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The earliest senses were about holding: capacious, roomy, from 1594, and comprehensive, from 1592, both obsolete.^(OED 1989) The modern sense, having the power or fitness for a purpose, is from 1597,^(OED 1989) the 1590s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The sense “open to, admitting of”, as in a remark capable of being misunderstood, is also from 1597.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) ''Capability'' was formed in English in 1587.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1561 – able to perceive.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1571 – able to contain.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1587 – ''capability''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1594 – roomy.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1597 – having the power or fitness for something.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having [[ability]]; [[competent]] and [[efficient]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Having what is needed for a particular task; qualified.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Having the disposition: ''capable of murder''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Open to; admitting of: ''a remark capable of being misunderstood''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[capableness]]

+ * [[capably]]

+ * [[capability]]

+ * [[incapable]]

+ * [[uncapable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[capacity]]

+ * [[capacious]]

+ * [[captive]]

+ * [[capture]]

+ * [[accept]]

+ * [[receive]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}