English
tractable
Tractable comes from Latin tractābilis ‘that may be touched, handled, or managed’, and goes back to trahō ‘draw’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrahō‘draw’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtractō‘take in hand, handle, manage’frequentative of trahō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtractābilis‘that may be touched, handled, or managed’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tractable
- Englishearliest quotation 1707tractable
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrahō‘draw’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtractō‘take in hand, handle, manage’frequentative of trahō
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtractābilis‘that may be touched, handled, or managed’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tractable
- Englishearliest quotation 1707tractable
Earliest quotation: 1707, Thomas Brown, Moll Quarles's Answer to Mother Creswell of Famous Memory: “At leaſt five Hundred of theſe reforming Vultures are…”
Linked words
through Latin trahō ‘draw’
treat, contract, attractive, portrait, attraction, abstract, extract, trait, distraction, distract, tram, subtraction, retract, trattoria, 33 more
through Latin tractō ‘take in hand, handle, manage’
Today it means
adj Capable of being easily led, taught, or managed.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin trahō / tractable