Etymology

possible

pos·si·ble
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Today it means: Able but not certain to happen; neither inevitable nor impossible. Full definition →

Middle English possible ← Old French possible ← Latin possibilis
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frompossibilis“possible”
  2. Old French · derived frompossible
  3. Middle English · inherited frompossible
  4. English todaypossible

From Middle English possible, from Old French possible, from Latin possibilis (“possible”), from posse, possum (“to be able”); see power. Displaced Middle English acumendlic (“possible”), from Old English ācumendlīċ (“possible”). Compare also Old English mihtelīċ (“strong, capable, powerful, possible”), which was cognate with Old High German mahtlīh (“possible”) and Old Norse máttulígr (“mighty, possible”). Compare also Dutch mogelijk (“possible”) and German möglich (“possible”).

Words from the same roots

Latinpossibilis all →

possibility

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.