English
sufferable
Sufferable comes from Latin sufferō ‘to bear or carry under’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéreti‘to be carrying’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ferō‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferō‘carry, bear’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsufferōas sufferre‘to bear or carry under’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500sufferābilis
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400sufferable
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 2001same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-‘to bear, carry’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéreti‘to be carrying’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ferō‘to carry, bear’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEferō‘carry, bear’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsufferōas sufferre‘to bear or carry under’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500sufferābilis
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400sufferable
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 2001same form
Earliest quotation: 2001, Walter Prytulak, On Pain Suffering: Reminiscences: “Greek philosophers put it bluntly: "The best thing in…”
Formed from suffer + -able
Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
Latin ferō ‘to carry’
Latin sufferō ‘to hold up, bear, suffer’
Anglo-Norman sofrir
Middle English suffren
English suffer
The story
From Middle English sufferable, souffrable (‘bearable, endurable, tolerable; allowable, permissible; able to or willing to bear hardship; forbearing, long-suffering; calm, self-restrained, slow to anger; capable of suffering’), from Anglo-Norman sufferable, souffrable, and Old French souffrable, suffrable (‘sufferable, tolerable’)), from Medieval Latin sufferābilis, from Latin sufferre + -ābilis (suffix meaning ‘able or worthy to be’). Sufferre is the present active infinitive of sufferō, subferō (‘to bear or carry under; to bear, endure, suffer, undergo’), from sub- (prefix meaning ‘below, under’) + ferō (‘to bear, carry; to endure, suffer, tolerate’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (‘to bear, carry’)). The English word is analysable as suffer + -able.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear, carry’
bar, birth, broad, bread, fortune, burden, prefer, bearing, barrel, barn, bore, fury, baron, breeze, bark, broom, barrow, embargo, fret, berth, ferret, furtive, bahar, bier, birr, barrette, bairn, burnish, proffer, 115 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti ‘to be carrying’
bear, borne, phosphate, phosphorus, euphoria, dysphoria, semaphore, phosphine, indifferently, 92 more
through Proto-Italic *ferō ‘to carry, bear’
differently, differentiation, indifferent, infertility, deference, infertile, differentially, deferential, differentiator, differentiable, 69 more
through Latin ferō ‘carry, bear’
different, difference, offer, relative, reference, relation, transfer, translation, extraordinary, relate, frustration, translate, referendum, strangely, referee, differ, fertility, extravagant, fertile, elated, frustrate, confer, defer, fertilization, infer, infra, elation, extraneous, collation, strangeness, ablation, dilate, collate, fertilize, oblate, ablative, estrange, efferent, 79 more
Today it means
adj Able to suffer, endure, or tolerate.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- / sufferable