estimable

English

Etymology

From Middle English estimable, estymable, from Old French estimable, from Latin aestimābilis. Equivalent to esteem +‎ -able and estimate +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛstɪməbəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

estimable (comparative more estimable, superlative most estimable)

1. Worthy of esteem; admirable.

   Synonym: reverend

   Near-synonyms: esteemed, revered

   • 1715–1720, Homer, translated by Alexander Pope, “Book VI”, in The Iliad of Homer, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, footnote:

     [Homer] allows their characters such estimable qualities as could consist, and in truth generally do, with tender frailties.

   • 1868–1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, Little Women: […], (please specify |part=1 or 2), Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC:

     Mr. March told […] how devoted Brooke had been, and how he was altogether a most estimable and upright young man.

2. (archaic) Valuable.
   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

     A pound of man's flesh taken from a man
     Is not so estimable, profitable neither,
     As flesh of muttons, beefs, or goats.

3. Capable of being estimated; estimatable.
   • 1928, Louis Kahlenberg, Norbert Barwasser, “On the time of Absorption and Excretion of Boric Acid in Man”, in Journal of Biological Chemistry, volume 79, number 2, page 406:

     After this time boric acid is always present in estimable amounts.

   • 1999, Jordi Galí, Mark Gertler, “Inflation dynamics: A structural econometric analysis”, in Journal of Monetary Economics, volume 44, page 198:

     In this section we review the recent theory that generates an estimable Phillips curve relation.

Derived terms

• estimableness
• estimably
• inestimable
• unestimable

Further reading

• “estimable”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin aestimabilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [əs.tiˈmab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [es.tiˈma.ble]

Adjective

estimable m or f (masculine and feminine plural estimables)

1. esteemed
2. estimable, estimatable (capable of being estimated)

Further reading

• “estimable”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
• “estimable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “estimable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “estimable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin aestimōlbor.

Old French estimer

Middle French estimer

Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ-

Proto-Italic *haβēō

Latin habeō

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis

Proto-Italic *-ðlis

Latin -bilis

Latin -ibilis

Latin -ābilis

Old French -able

Middle French -able

Middle French estimable

French estimable

Inherited from Middle French estimable, from estimer + -able.

Equivalent to estimer +‎ -able.

Adjective

estimable (plural estimables)

1. estimable, creditable
2. esteemed

Descendants

• → Romanian: estimabil

References

• “estimable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle French

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin aestimōlbor.

Old French estimer

Middle French estimer

Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ-

Proto-Italic *haβēō

Latin habeō

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis

Proto-Italic *-ðlis

Latin -bilis

Latin -ibilis

Latin -ābilis

Old French -able

Middle French -able

Middle French estimable

From estimer + -able. Attested since the 15th c.

Adjective

estimable m or f (plural estimables)

1. estimable, creditable

Descendants

• French: estimable
  • → Romanian: estimabil

References

• “estimable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin aestimō

Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ-

Proto-Italic *haβēō

Latin habeō

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis

Proto-Italic *-ðlis

Latin -bilis

Latin -ibilis

Latin -ābilis

Latin aestimābilisder.?

Spanish estimable

Possibly from Latin aestimābilis, from aestimō + -ābilis. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /estiˈmable/ [es.t̪iˈma.β̞le]

• Audio (Costa Rica):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: es‧ti‧ma‧ble

Adjective

estimable m or f (masculine and feminine plural estimables)

1. esteemed, admirable
2. estimable (capable of being estimated)

Related terms

• estimado

Further reading

• “estimable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10