reliable English · revision 6904

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1569}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[rely]] and the suffix [[-able]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ 1569, in Scots, as raliabill:^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) that may be relied on, trustworthy.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The form reliable, trustworthy, safe, sure, is from 1624.^(Barnhart 1988) The word was not in common use before 1850,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) and for some time after that it was condemned in Britain as an American barbarism,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) because it uses -able differently from provable and other words, in a way classical Latin does not warrant.^(Etymonline) The OED and the Century Dictionary defended it on the analogy of [[available]], [[laughable]] and [[dependable]],^(Etymonline) and Barnhart notes that it occurs in Coleridge, Gladstone and Trevelyan.^(Barnhart 1988) As a noun, a reliable person or thing, it is from 1890,^(OED 1989) and in statistics, yielding consistent results when repeated, from 1892.^(OED 1989) [[reliability|alt=Reliability]] is from the 19th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1569 – raliabill, in Scots.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1624 – reliable.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1850 – in common use.^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1890 – a reliable person or thing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1892 – in statistics.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Able to be relied on; [[dependable]] or [[trustworthy]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Consistently good in quality or performance.^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(statistics)'' Giving consistent results when repeated.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[reliability]]

+ * [[reliably]]

+ * [[reliableness]]

+ * [[nonreliable]]

+ * [[ultrareliable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[reliance]]

+ * [[rely]]

+ * [[unreliable]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The AHD compares reliable with [[dependable]], [[responsible]], [[trustworthy]] and [[trusty]], which all mean worthy of reliance or trust.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}