capable
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Middle French capable, from Late Latin capābilis.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
capable (comparative more capable, superlative most capable)
- Able and efficient; having the ability needed for a specific task; having the disposition to do something; permitting or being susceptible to something.
- She is capable and efficient.
- He does not need help; he is capable of eating on his own.
- As everyone knew, he was capable of violence when roused.
- That fact is not capable of proof.
- (obsolete) Of sufficient capacity or size for holding, containing, receiving or taking in; accessible to. Construed with of, for or an infinitive.
- 1672, Lord Herbert, The Life and Reign of King Henry the Eighth, page 594:
- The place chosen was the cathedral church, capable of about 400 persons.
- 1775, Samuel Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (Works 10.479), page 304:
- He has begun a road capable of a wheel-carriage.
Synonyms edit
- See also Thesaurus:skillful
Antonyms edit
Derived terms edit
- capability (noun)
Translations edit
able and efficient
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References edit
- John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “capable”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
capable (plural capables)
See also edit
Further reading edit
- “capable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Haitian Creole edit
Etymology edit
From French capable (“capable”).
Verb edit
capable
- (Saint-Domingue) (auxiliary) can, to be able to
- Nous promené jouc nou pas té capable encore. ― We walked until we could not anymore.
Descendants edit
- Haitian Creole: kapab
References edit
- S.J Ducoeurjoly, Manuel des habitans de Saint-Domingue, contenant un précis de l'histoire de cette île