-mobile

/məbiːl/

suffix

Used to form nouns meaning a particular type of vehicle, particularly one to transport the person or thing described by the word to which the suffix is attached.

OriginEnglish automobilebf. ← French automobile ← Latin mōbili →
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Meanings

suffix-mobile (noun-forming suffix, plural -mobiles)

plural -mobiles

  1. Used to form nouns meaning a particular type of vehicle, particularly one to transport the person or thing described by the word to which the suffix is attached.

    I thought, if I had these two run their little skateboard hustle on Mrs. Kettleman, I could, you know, rescue her. […] But, it turns out, your lovely abuelita, she drives a car that's a whole lot like the Kettle-mobile.

    2015, Peter Gould, “Mijo” (12:44 from the start), in Better Call Saul, season 1, episode 2, spoken by Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk)

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ew
  2. Proto-Indo-European*tó-
  3. Proto-Hellenic*autós
  4. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ew
  5. Ancient Greekαὖ (aû)
  6. Ancient Greekτόν (tón)
  7. Ancient Greekαὐτός (autós)
  8. Ancient Greekαὐτο- (auto-)
  9. Frenchauto-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)ewh₁-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)owh₁éyeti
  12. Proto-Italic*moweō
  13. Latinmoveō
  14. Latinmōbili
  15. Frenchmobile
  16. Frenchautomobile
  17. Englishautomobilebf.
  18. English-mobile

Back-formation from automobile.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

-mobile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-mobile

MLA

“-mobile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-mobile. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-mobile,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-mobile.

Source: -mobile on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.