Re: -able
| From: | T. A. McLeay <conlang@...> |
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| Date: | Monday, April 14, 2008, 7:00 |
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MorphemeAddict@WMCONNECT.COM wrote:
> In a message dated 4/13/2008 23:47:47 PM Central Daylight Time,
> scott.hlad@TELUS.NET writes:
>
>
>> I'm looking for the derivation of the suffix "-able" which we have in
>> English which appears the same in French and as "-avel" in Portugese.
>> Any ideas?
>> Scotto
>>
>
> My first guess is that it's from Latin "-abilis".
Which in turn is -a:- + -bilis; the -a:- could also have been -i- (hence
"-ible" in "impossible") or not included, hence "soluble" from "solve"
(La. solu:-bilis and solvere, noting Classical Latin -v- was /w/, and it
is for whatever reason one of my favorite pairs of words in English).
Any decent dictionary should tell you this much.
--
Tristan.
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