capable

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French capable, from Late Latin capābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪpəbəl/

• Audio (US, [ˈkʰeɪ̯pəbl̩])

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ca‧pa‧ble

Adjective

capable (comparative more capable, superlative most capable)

1. Able and efficient; having the ability needed for a specific task; having the disposition to do something; permitting or being susceptible to something.

   She is capable and efficient.

   He does not need help; he is capable of eating on his own.

   As everyone knew, he was capable of violence when roused.

   That fact is not capable of proof.

2. (obsolete) Of sufficient capacity or size for holding, containing, receiving or taking in; accessible to. Construed with of, for or an infinitive.
   • 1672, Lord Herbert, The Life and Reign of King Henry the Eighth, page 594:

     The place chosen was the cathedral church, capable of about 400 persons.

   • 1775, Samuel Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (Works 10.479), page 304:

     He has begun a road capable of a wheel-carriage.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:skillful

Antonyms

• incapable

Derived terms

• capability (noun)

Translations

able and efficient

• Arabic: قَادِر (ar) (qādir)

  Hijazi Arabic: قادِر (gādir)

• Aromanian: putut
• Basque: gai
• Belarusian: здо́льны (zdólʹny)
• Bulgarian: спосо́бен (bg) (sposóben), кадъ́рен (bg) (kadǎ́ren)
• Burmese: စွမ်း (my) (cwam:)
• Catalan: capaç (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 能幹／能干 (zh) (nénggàn), 有能力 (yǒu nénglì)

• Czech: schopný (cs), zdatný
• Dutch: bekwaam (nl)
• Esperanto: kapabla
• Finnish: kyvykäs (fi), kykenevä (fi)
• French: capable (fr)
• German: fähig (de)
• Greek: ικανός (el) (ikanós)
• Hindi: सक्षम (hi) m (sakṣam)
• Ido: kapabla (io)
• Interlingua: capabile
• Irish: cumasach
• Italian: capace (it)
• Japanese: 有能な (ja) (ゆうのうな, yūnō na)
• Kaurna: wayanta
• Khmer: ជំនាញ (km) (cumniəñ)
• Korean: 유능하다 (ko) (yuneunghada)
• Ladino: kadir, kapache, kapachi (Monastir)
• Latin: potis
• Latvian: spējīgs
• Macedonian: способен (sposoben)
• Manx: jargal
• Norman: habil'ye
• Polish: stać (pl) (a defective verb), zdolny (pl)
• Portuguese: capaz (pt)
• Quechua: kuti (qu)
• Romanian: capabil (ro)
• Russian: спосо́бный (ru) (sposóbnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: comasach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: спо̏собан

  Roman: spȍsoban (sh)

• Slovak: schopný, zdatný
• Slovene: zmožen
• Spanish: capaz (es)
• Swedish: kapabel (sv)
• Tocharian B: cämpamo
• Turkish: kapasiteli, kapasitede
• Ukrainian: зда́тний (uk) (zdátnyj), зді́бний (zdíbnyj), спромо́жний (spromóžnyj)
• Urdu: قابل
• Yiddish: פֿעיִק (feik)

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “capable”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Anagrams

• pacable

French

Etymology

From Latin capabilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.pabl/

• audio

  (file)

Adjective

capable (plural capables)

1. able, capable

See also

• cap’

Further reading

• “capable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French capable (“capable”).

Verb

capable

1. (Saint-Domingue) (auxiliary) can, to be able to

   Nous promené jouc nou pas té capable encore. ― We walked until we could not anymore.

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: kapab

References

• S.J Ducoeurjoly, Manuel des habitans de Saint-Domingue, contenant un précis de l'histoire de cette île