English
profitable
Profitable comes from Old French profitable ‘useful’, and goes back to profiter.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400profiter
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400profitable‘useful’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1521same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400profiter
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400profitable‘useful’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1521same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1521, John Skelton: “I wylbe ferme and ſtabyll And to yow ſeruyceabyll…”
Formed from profit + -able
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-
…
Latin prōficiō ‘to advance; to benefit, profit’
Latin prōfectus ‘advance, progress, profit’
Old French profit
Middle English profit
English profit
Every English word from Old French profiter
Today it means
adj Producing a profit.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French profiter / profitable