liable | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

74 entries found.

late 14c., "paying tribute," from Latin tributarius "liable to tax or tribute," from tributum (see tribute).

early 15c., punysshable, of persons, "liable to legal punishment, deserving of being punished;" also of offenses or sins, from punish + -able. Related: Punishability.

accountable (adj.)

"answerable," literally "liable to be called to account," c. 1400 (mid-14c. in Anglo-French), from Old French acontable; see account (v.) + -able. Related: Accountably.

ratable (adj.)

also rateable, c. 1500, "capable of being set at a certain value," from rate (v.2) + -able. From 1760 as "liable to payment of rates." Related: Ratably; ratableness.

impeachable (adj.)

early 15c., empechable, "liable to impeachment," from Old French; see impeach + -able. Related: impeachably; impeachability.

calamitous (adj.)

"marked by great misfortune," 1540s, from French calamiteux (16c.), from Latin calamitosus "causing loss, destructive; liable to damage or disaster," from calamitas (see calamity). Related: Calamitously; calamitousness.

vertiginous (adj.)

c. 1600, "of the nature of vertigo," from French vertigineux, from Latin vertiginosus "suffering from dizziness," from vertigo (see vertigo). From 1620s as "dizzy;" 1640s as "liable to cause dizziness." Related: Vertiginously.

fallible (adj.)

early 15c., from Medieval Latin fallibilis "liable to err, deceitful," literally "that can be deceived," from Latin fallere "deceive" (see fail (v.)).

presentable (adj.)

mid-15c., of a benefice, "capable of being presented or receiving presentation;" also, in law, "liable to formal charge of wrongdoing," from present (v.) + -able. Meaning "suitable in appearance" is from 1800. Related: Presentably; presentability.

cognizable (adj.)

1670s, "capable of being known," also "liable to be tried in a given court or jurisdiction," from stem of cognizance (q.v.) + -able. Related: Cognizably; cognizability.

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