sustainable English · revision 7017

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1611}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /səˈsteɪnəbəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[sustain]] and [[-able]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Bearable: 1611 in the OED, the 1610s in Etymonline; this sense is obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Capable of being upheld or defended is from 1845.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Capable of being maintained at a certain rate or level, and ''sustainable growth'', are from 1965.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) [[sustainability|alt=Sustainability]] is from 1972.^(OED 1989) The environmental sense, using resources in a way that does not deplete them, is late 20th-century.^(AHD 2000)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1611 – bearable (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1845 – defensible.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1965 – able to be maintained.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1972 – sustainability.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Able to be maintained at a certain level.^(AHD 2000)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Using natural resources without depleting them or damaging the [[environment]].^(AHD 2000)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Able to be upheld or defended.^(AHD 2000)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sustainability]]

+ * [[sustainably]]

+ * [[nonsustainable]]

+ * [[unsustainable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sustain]]

+ * [[sustenance]]

+ * [[maintain]]

+ * [[contain]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}