English
improbable
Improbable comes from Latin improbābilis.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimprobābilis
- Englishearliest quotation 1598improbable
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEimprobābilis
- Englishearliest quotation 1598improbable
Earliest quotation: 1598, John Florio, Improbabile: “Improbabile, that cannot be prooued, improbable.”
Proto-Indo-European *pro-bʰH-wó-s ‘being in front’
…
Latin probō ‘to test, examine’
Latin probābilis ‘that may be proved, credible’
Old French probable
Middle English probable
English probable
Every English word from Latin improbābilis
Today it means
adj Not likely to be true.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin improbābilis / improbable