comparable

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English comparable, from Middle French comparable, from Latin comparābilis.

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

comparable (comparative more comparable, superlative most comparable)

  1. (often with to) Able to be compared (to).
    An elephant is comparable in size to a double-decker bus.
    You can't say that robbing a bank is like pickpocketing. The two are just not comparable.
    • 2022 January 12, Sir Michael Holden, “Reform of the workforce or death by a thousand cuts?”, in RAIL, number 948, page 22:
      As yet, we don't know what the comparable figures will be like for the current financial year which ends in March 2022, but we can have a good stab at approximating them.
  2. (often with to) Similar (to); like.
  3. (mathematics) Constituting a pair in a particular partial order.
    Six and forty-two are comparable in the divides order, but six and nine are not.
  4. (grammar) Said of an adjective that has comparative and superlative forms.
    "Big" is a comparable adjective, since it can take the forms "bigger" and "biggest"; but "unique" is not comparable, except in disputed, but common, usage.
    Synonym: gradable

Usage notesEdit

The pronunciation /ˈkɒmp(ə)ɹəbl̩/ is almost never used for sense 4.

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

NounEdit

comparable (plural comparables)

  1. Something suitable for comparison.
    • 2009, January 2, “Fred A. Bernstein”, in Catskill Home Prices: How Low Will They Go?[1]:
      And the appraiser said he couldn't come up with comparables, because there hadn't been any sales nearby in several months.

Further readingEdit

AsturianEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin comparābilis.

AdjectiveEdit

comparable (epicene, plural comparables)

  1. comparable

Related termsEdit

CatalanEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin comparābilis.

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

comparable (masculine and feminine plural comparables)

  1. comparable
    Antonym: incomparable

Derived termsEdit

Related termsEdit

Further readingEdit

FrenchEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin comparābilis.

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

comparable (plural comparables)

  1. comparable (suitable to be compared)

Related termsEdit

Further readingEdit

GalicianEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin comparābilis.

AdjectiveEdit

comparable m or f (plural comparables)

  1. comparable

Related termsEdit

Further readingEdit

Middle EnglishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from Middle French comparable, from Latin comparābilis; equivalent to comparen +‎ -able.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /ˌkɔmpaˈraːbəl/, /ˌkɔmpaˈraːblə/, /ˈkɔmpərabəl/

AdjectiveEdit

comparable (Late Middle English)

  1. Of identical or similar value; comparing favourably.
  2. Comparable, commensurable; suitable for comparison.

DescendantsEdit

  • English: comparable

ReferencesEdit

SpanishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin comparābilis.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /kompaˈɾable/ [kõm.paˈɾa.β̞le]
  • Rhymes: -able
  • Syllabification: com‧pa‧ra‧ble

AdjectiveEdit

comparable (plural comparables)

  1. comparable
    Antonym: incomparable

Derived termsEdit

Related termsEdit

Further readingEdit