English
allowable
Allowable comes from Old French alouable.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400alouable
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500allowable
- Englishearliest quotation 1650same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400alouable
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500allowable
- Englishearliest quotation 1650same form
Earliest quotation: 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […]: “And first, although there were more things in nature…”
Every English word from Old French alouable
Today it means
adj Appropriate; acceptable.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French alouable / allowable