English
flexibility
Flexibility comes from Latin flexibilis ‘flexible, pliant’, and goes back to flectō ‘to bend, curve’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEflectō‘to bend, curve’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEflexibilis‘flexible, pliant’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEflexibilitās
- Frenchc. 1600–presentflexibilité
- Englishearliest quotation 2017flexibility
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEflectō‘to bend, curve’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEflexibilis‘flexible, pliant’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEflexibilitās
- Frenchc. 1600–presentflexibilité
- Englishearliest quotation 2017flexibility
Earliest quotation: 2017, Jenny Marc, Revolutionary gel is five times stronger than steel: “Researchers have developed a new gel they say is…”
Formed from flexible + -ity
Latin flectō ‘to bend, curve’
Latin flexibilis ‘flexible, pliant, able to be bent’
Middle French flexible
English flexible
Linked words
through Latin flectō ‘to bend, curve’
reflect, deflection, reflex, deflect, inflection, flexor, 11 more
Today it means
noun The quality of being flexible, whether physically or metaphorically.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin flectō / flexibility