English
embarrassable
Embarrassable comes from French embarrasser ‘embarrass’, from Spanish embarazar ‘to impregnate, make pregnant’, and ultimately from Sumerian keš₂ ‘to bind’.
- Sumerianc. 3100–1800 BCEkeš₂transliteratedcuneiform keš₂, a transliteration‘to bind’
- Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCErakāsumtransliteratedcuneiform rakāsum, a transliteration
- Akkadian, derivedc. 2500–100 BCEmarkasutransliteratedcuneiform markasu, a transliteration
- Classical Syriacmodernܡܰܪܫܳܐmaršā
- Arabicc. 500–presentمَرَسَةmarasa‘rope, cable, hawser’
- Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500baraço
- Old Galician-Portuguese, derivedc. 1100–1500embaraçar
- Old Spanishc. 950–1500same form
- Spanishc. 1500–presentembarazar‘to impregnate, make pregnant’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentembarrasser‘embarrass’
- English1500–presentembarrass
- Englishearliest quotation 1999embarrassable
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Sumerianc. 3100–1800 BCEkeš₂transliteratedcuneiform keš₂, a transliteration‘to bind’
- Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCErakāsumtransliteratedcuneiform rakāsum, a transliteration
- Akkadian, derivedc. 2500–100 BCEmarkasutransliteratedcuneiform markasu, a transliteration
- Classical Syriacmodernܡܰܪܫܳܐmaršā
- Arabicc. 500–presentمَرَسَةmarasa‘rope, cable, hawser’
- Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500baraço
- Old Galician-Portuguese, derivedc. 1100–1500embaraçar
- Old Spanishc. 950–1500same form
- Spanishc. 1500–presentembarazar‘to impregnate, make pregnant’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentembarrasser‘embarrass’
- English1500–presentembarrass
- Englishearliest quotation 1999embarrassable
Earliest quotation: 1999, Matt Ridley, Genome: “But true scientists should not be embarrassable.”
A compound of embarrass + -able
Linked words
through English embarrass
Today it means
adj Capable of being embarrassed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Sumerian keš₂ / embarrassable