The story
- Latin · derived from-ābilis
- Old French · derived from-able
- Middle English · inherited from-able
- English today-able
Inherited from Middle English -able, borrowed from Old French -able, from Latin -ābilis, from -a- or -i- + -bilis (“capable or worthy of being acted upon”), from Proto-Indo-European i-stem form *-dʰli- of *-dʰlom (“instrumental suffix”). Not closely related etymologically, though currently related semantically, to able. Displaced native Old English -endlīc (equivalent to Modern English -andly, -andlike), and Modern English -worthy.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.