-ible

English

Alternative forms

-able (productive)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɪbəl/, /əbəl/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Audio (Southern England): (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English -ible, from Old French -ible, from Latin -ibilis.

Suffix

-ible

An adjective suffix, now usually in a passive sense; forms adjectives meaning "able to be", "relevant or suitable to, in accordance with", or expressing capacity or worthiness in a passive sense.
convertible

Usage notes

The form -able is usually used in the same sense and is pronounced the same, though sometimes equivalent terms have diverged in meaning: compare suggestable (“capable of being suggested”) with suggestible (“susceptible to influence by suggestion”).
Generally not productive in English – most words ending in -ible are borrowed from Latin, or Old or Middle French, while -able is more common for producing new words. Examples of production in English include collectible and gullible.
In general, forms derived from Latin verbs of the second, third, and fourth conjugations take -ible, as well as a few words whose roots end in a soft c or g. All other words take -able, particularly words from the Latin first conjugation, words that evolved through French, and words from Anglo-Saxon.
Fowler, in his English Usage, recommended using -ible for simplicity in spelling with any verb whose root ends in a soft c or g (such as changible vs. changeable), but this recommendation has generally not been followed.
Adjectives ending in -ible are occasionally nominalized, as in dirigible, foible, submersible. The adjective sense may become obsolete, as in foible.
A few words end in “ible” but are not related to this suffix, instead being of different origin, generally a similar Latin suffix. Examples include crucible and mandible. See Etymology 2, below, for details.

Derived terms

-ibly

Derived terms

Translations

able to be done

Catalan: -able, -ible
Dutch: -baar (nl)
Esperanto: -ebla (eo)
Finnish: -tava, -tävä
French: -ible (fr)
Frisian:
West Frisian: -ber
Galician: -ábel m or f, -able m or f
Georgian: -ადი (-adi)
German: -bar (de)
Hungarian: -ható (hu), -hető (hu)
Ido: -ebla
Italian: -ibile, -abile
Japanese: -られる (ja) (rareru)
Portuguese: -ável (pt), -ível (pt)
Romanian: -bil
Russian: -а́емый (-ájemyj), -а́ющийся (-ájuščijsja)
Swedish: -bar (sv)

relevant or suitable to, in accordance with

Dutch: various suffixes: ^{(please verify)} -ig (nl), ^{(please verify)} -lijk (nl), ^{(please verify)} -baar (nl), ^{(please verify)} -ieus, etc.
Italian: ^{(please verify)} di (it), ^{(please verify)} al (it) m or ^{(please verify)} alla (it) f followed by the noun
Swedish: -abel (sv), -bar (sv)

expressing capacity or worthiness in a passive sense

Dutch: -baar (nl)
Esperanto: -ebla (eo)
Finnish: -tava, -tävä
Galician: -ábel m or f
Italian: -ibile, -abile
Japanese: -られる (ja) (rareru)
Portuguese: -ável (pt), -ível (pt)
Romanian: -bil
Spanish: -able (es), -ible (es)
Swedish: -bar (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Latin: ^{(please verify)} -abilis, ^{(please verify)} -ibilis

Etymology 2

From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin -i- + -bulum (instrumental suffix) or -bula (instrumental suffix), from Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom. Related to Latin suffixes -brum (candelabrum) and -bra (vertebra).

Suffix

-ible

An instrumental suffix; forms nouns representing:
1. a tool or instrument
  crucible, mandible, thurible
2. a place or location

Usage notes

This use of -ible is not productive in English. Confusion may arise from mistaking nouns ending with this suffix as being forms derived from the adjectival suffixes mentioned in Etymology 1 above.

Derived terms

Anagrams

bile, Biel, beli, Lieb

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin -ibilis.

Suffix

-ible m or f (adjective-forming suffix, masculine and feminine plural -ibles)

-ible, -able

Usage notes

This suffix is used for verbs of the second and third conjugations, which end in -er, -re or -ir. For the first-conjugation verbs, which end in -ar, the suffix is -able.

Derived terms

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French -ible, from Latin -ibilis.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ibl/

Suffix

-ible (adjective-forming suffix, plural -ibles)

-ible

Derived terms

Old French

Etymology

From Latin -ibilis.

Suffix

-ible

-ible (variant of -able)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

(Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈi.blɨ/ [ˈi.βlɨ]

Suffix

-ible m or f (adjective-forming suffix, plural -ibles)

(Beira, Northern Portugal) alternative form of -ível

Related terms

-able

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin -ibilis.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈible/ [ˈi.β̞le]
Rhymes: -ible
Syllabification: -i‧ble

Suffix

-ible m or f (adjective-forming suffix, masculine and feminine plural -ibles)

-ible

Derived terms

Related terms

-able

-ible

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Suffix

Usage notes

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Etymology 2

Suffix

Usage notes

Derived terms

Anagrams

Catalan

Etymology

Suffix

Usage notes

Derived terms

French

Etymology

Pronunciation

Suffix

Derived terms

Further reading

Old French

Etymology

Suffix

Portuguese

Pronunciation

Suffix

Related terms

Spanish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Suffix

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading