Etymology

tractable

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Today it means: Capable of being easily led, taught, or managed. Full definition →

Middle English tractable ← Latin tractābilis
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromtractābilis“that may be touched, handled, or managed”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromtractable
  3. English todaytractable

From Middle English tractable, tractabel, from Latin tractābilis (“that may be touched, handled, or managed”), from tractō (“take in hand, handle, manage”), frequentative of trahō (“draw”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.