English
affable
Affable comes from French affable ‘affable, amicable, sociable’, from Latin affābilis ‘that can be easily spoken to or accessed’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂ti‘to speak, to be talking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāōr‘to speak’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfor‘to speak, talk, say’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaffor‘to address’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaffābilis‘that can be easily spoken to or accessed’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentaffable‘affable, amicable, sociable’
- Englishearliest quotation 1912affable
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂ti‘to speak, to be talking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāōr‘to speak’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfor‘to speak, talk, say’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaffor‘to address’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEaffābilis‘that can be easily spoken to or accessed’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentaffable‘affable, amicable, sociable’
- Englishearliest quotation 1912affable
Earliest quotation: 1912, James Burrill Angell, chapter ix Mission To The Ottoman Empire: “Furthermore, I may say, that the Sultan was always…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
phone, focus, professor, fuel, ben, phase, famous, ban, favourite, favor, fantasy, photographer, emphasis, phenomenon, profession, fancy, fate, bee, fame, confession, fatal, fairy, abandon, confess, phantom, infant, symphony, beacon, beck, boon, bane, epiphany, foyer, banish, buoy, fay, profess, bene, banal, nefarious, 123 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéh₂ti ‘to speak, to be talking’
through Latin for ‘to speak, talk, say’
Today it means
adj Receiving others kindly and conversing with them in a free and friendly manner; friendly, courteous, sociable.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / affable