English
countable
Countable comes from Anglo-Norman counter, from Latin computō ‘to calculate, compute, reckon together’, and ultimately from putus.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEputus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEputō‘to clean, cleanse’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomputō‘to calculate, compute, reckon together’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400counter
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500counten‘to count’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500countable
- Englishearliest quotation 2014same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEputus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEputō‘to clean, cleanse’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomputō‘to calculate, compute, reckon together’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400counter
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500counten‘to count’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500countable
- Englishearliest quotation 2014same form
Earliest quotation: 2014, James Lambert, Diachronic stability in Indian English lexis: “In these extracts the word abuse is used in…”
Formed from count ‘to enumerate’ + -able
Latin putō ‘to reckon’
Latin computō ‘to calculate, compute’
Old French conter ‘to add up; to tell a story’
Anglo-Norman conter
Middle English counten ‘to count’
English count
Linked words
through Latin putus
through Latin putō ‘to clean, cleanse’
dispute, imp, amputation, putative, amputee, repute, indisputable, amputate, indisputably, depute, imputation, disputation, disputable, 9 more
through Latin computō ‘to calculate, compute, reckon together’
Today it means
adj Capable of being counted; having a quantity.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin putus / countable