Post History
Etymonline on "-able" doesn't expound the origin of "requiring". -able common termination and word-forming element of English adjectives (typically based on verbs) and generally adding a notion...
#9: Post edited
- [Etymonline on "-able"](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-able) doesn't expound the origin of "**requiring**".
- > # \-able
- >
- > common termination and word-forming element of English adjectives (typically based on verbs) and generally adding a notion of "capable of; allowed; worthy of; **requiring**; to be \_\_\_\_\_\_ed," sometimes "full of, causing," from French _-able_ and directly from Latin _-abilis_. It is properly \-ble, from Latin _-bilis_ (the vowel being generally from the stem ending of the verb being suffixed), and it represents PIE _*-tro_, a suffix used to form nouns of instrument, cognate with the second syllables of English [rudder](https://www.etymonline.com/word/rudder?ref=etymonline_crossreference) and [saddle](https://www.etymonline.com/word/saddle?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_22588) (n.).
- For example, "payABLE" literally means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below?
- >1. [(of money) required to be paid; due.](https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable)
- >
- >2. Able to be paid.
- >**payables**
- >
- >Debts owed by a business; liabilities.
- [payable (adj.) on Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable")
- >
- > late 14c., *paiable*, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid,"
- from [pay](https://www.etymonline.com/word/pay?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_10195) (v.) + [-able](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-able?ref=etymonline_crossreference) or from Old French *paiable*. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."
- [Etymonline on "-able"](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-able) doesn't expound the origin of "**requiring**".
- > # \-able
- >
- > common termination and word-forming element of English adjectives (typically based on verbs) and generally adding a notion of "capable of; allowed; worthy of; **requiring**; to be \_\_\_\_\_\_ed," sometimes "full of, causing," from French _-able_ and directly from Latin _-abilis_. It is properly \-ble, from Latin _-bilis_ (the vowel being generally from the stem ending of the verb being suffixed), and it represents PIE _*-tro_, a suffix used to form nouns of instrument, cognate with the second syllables of English [rudder](https://www.etymonline.com/word/rudder?ref=etymonline_crossreference) and [saddle](https://www.etymonline.com/word/saddle?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_22588) (n.).
- For example, "payABLE" literally means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below?
- >1. [(of money) required to be paid; due.](https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable)
- >
- >2. Able to be paid.
- >
- >**payables**
- >
- >Debts owed by a business; liabilities.
- [payable (adj.) on Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable")
- >
- > late 14c., *paiable*, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid,"
- from [pay](https://www.etymonline.com/word/pay?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_10195) (v.) + [-able](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-able?ref=etymonline_crossreference) or from Old French *paiable*. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."
#7: Post edited
- [Etymonline on "-able"](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-able) doesn't expound the origin of "**requiring**".
- > # \-able
- >
- > common termination and word-forming element of English adjectives (typically based on verbs) and generally adding a notion of "capable of; allowed; worthy of; **requiring**; to be \_\_\_\_\_\_ed," sometimes "full of, causing," from French _-able_ and directly from Latin _-abilis_. It is properly \-ble, from Latin _-bilis_ (the vowel being generally from the stem ending of the verb being suffixed), and it represents PIE _*-tro_, a suffix used to form nouns of instrument, cognate with the second syllables of English [rudder](https://www.etymonline.com/word/rudder?ref=etymonline_crossreference) and [saddle](https://www.etymonline.com/word/saddle?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_22588) (n.).
- For example, "payABLE" literally means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below?
>[1. (of money) required to be paid; due.]((https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable))- >2. Able to be paid.
>**payables** Debts owed by a business; liabilities.- [payable (adj.) on Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable")
- >
- > late 14c., *paiable*, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid,"
- from [pay](https://www.etymonline.com/word/pay?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_10195) (v.) + [-able](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-able?ref=etymonline_crossreference) or from Old French *paiable*. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."
- [Etymonline on "-able"](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-able) doesn't expound the origin of "**requiring**".
- > # \-able
- >
- > common termination and word-forming element of English adjectives (typically based on verbs) and generally adding a notion of "capable of; allowed; worthy of; **requiring**; to be \_\_\_\_\_\_ed," sometimes "full of, causing," from French _-able_ and directly from Latin _-abilis_. It is properly \-ble, from Latin _-bilis_ (the vowel being generally from the stem ending of the verb being suffixed), and it represents PIE _*-tro_, a suffix used to form nouns of instrument, cognate with the second syllables of English [rudder](https://www.etymonline.com/word/rudder?ref=etymonline_crossreference) and [saddle](https://www.etymonline.com/word/saddle?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_22588) (n.).
- For example, "payABLE" literally means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below?
- >1. [(of money) required to be paid; due.](https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable)
- >
- >2. Able to be paid.
- >**payables**
- >
- >Debts owed by a business; liabilities.
- [payable (adj.) on Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable")
- >
- > late 14c., *paiable*, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid,"
- from [pay](https://www.etymonline.com/word/pay?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_10195) (v.) + [-able](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-able?ref=etymonline_crossreference) or from Old French *paiable*. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."
#6: Post edited
How does payable mean "required to be paid", not only "able to pay"?
- How did “-able” semantically shift to mean “requiring”?
Literally, "payABLE" means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below? [Payable | Definition of Payable by Oxford Dictionary](https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable)>1. (of money) required to be paid; due.- >2. Able to be paid.
- >**payables** Debts owed by a business; liabilities.
- [payable (adj.) on Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable")
- >
- > late 14c., *paiable*, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid,"
- from [pay](https://www.etymonline.com/word/pay?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_10195) (v.) + [-able](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-able?ref=etymonline_crossreference) or from Old French *paiable*. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."
- [Etymonline on "-able"](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-able) doesn't expound the origin of "**requiring**".
- > # \-able
- >
- > common termination and word-forming element of English adjectives (typically based on verbs) and generally adding a notion of "capable of; allowed; worthy of; **requiring**; to be \_\_\_\_\_\_ed," sometimes "full of, causing," from French _-able_ and directly from Latin _-abilis_. It is properly \-ble, from Latin _-bilis_ (the vowel being generally from the stem ending of the verb being suffixed), and it represents PIE _*-tro_, a suffix used to form nouns of instrument, cognate with the second syllables of English [rudder](https://www.etymonline.com/word/rudder?ref=etymonline_crossreference) and [saddle](https://www.etymonline.com/word/saddle?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_22588) (n.).
- For example, "payABLE" literally means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below?
- >[1. (of money) required to be paid; due.]((https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable))
- >2. Able to be paid.
- >**payables** Debts owed by a business; liabilities.
- [payable (adj.) on Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable")
- >
- > late 14c., *paiable*, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid,"
- from [pay](https://www.etymonline.com/word/pay?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_10195) (v.) + [-able](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-able?ref=etymonline_crossreference) or from Old French *paiable*. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."
#5: Post edited
- Literally, "payABLE" means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below? [Payable | Definition of Payable by Oxford Dictionary](https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable)
- >1. (of money) required to be paid; due.
- >2. Able to be paid.
- >**payables** Debts owed by a business; liabilities.
- [payable (adj.) on Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable")
- >
> late 14c., paiable, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid," from pay (v.) + \-able or from Old French paiable. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."
- Literally, "payABLE" means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below? [Payable | Definition of Payable by Oxford Dictionary](https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable)
- >1. (of money) required to be paid; due.
- >2. Able to be paid.
- >**payables** Debts owed by a business; liabilities.
- [payable (adj.) on Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable")
- >
- > late 14c., *paiable*, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid,"
- from [pay](https://www.etymonline.com/word/pay?ref=etymonline_crossreference#etymonline_v_10195) (v.) + [-able](https://www.etymonline.com/word/-able?ref=etymonline_crossreference) or from Old French *paiable*. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."
#4: Post edited
Literally, "payABLE" means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below? [payable | Search Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=payable)[Payable | Definition of Payable by Oxford Dictionary](https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable)- >1. (of money) required to be paid; due.
- >2. Able to be paid.
- >**payables** Debts owed by a business; liabilities.
> [payable (adj.)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable")- >
- > late 14c., paiable, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid," from pay (v.) + \-able or from Old French paiable. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."
- Literally, "payABLE" means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below? [Payable | Definition of Payable by Oxford Dictionary](https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable)
- >1. (of money) required to be paid; due.
- >2. Able to be paid.
- >**payables** Debts owed by a business; liabilities.
- [payable (adj.) on Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable")
- >
- > late 14c., paiable, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid," from pay (v.) + \-able or from Old French paiable. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."
#2: Post edited
How does payable mean "required to be paid"?
- How does payable mean "required to be paid", not only "able to pay"?
- Literally, "payABLE" means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below? [payable | Search Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=payable)
[Payable | Definition of Payable by Oxford Dictionary on Lexico.com also meaning of Payable](https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable)- >1. (of money) required to be paid; due.
- >2. Able to be paid.
- >**payables** Debts owed by a business; liabilities.
- > [payable (adj.)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable")
- >
- > late 14c., paiable, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid," from pay (v.) + \-able or from Old French paiable. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."
- Literally, "payABLE" means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below? [payable | Search Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=payable)
- [Payable | Definition of Payable by Oxford Dictionary](https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable)
- >1. (of money) required to be paid; due.
- >2. Able to be paid.
- >**payables** Debts owed by a business; liabilities.
- > [payable (adj.)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable")
- >
- > late 14c., paiable, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid," from pay (v.) + \-able or from Old French paiable. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."
#1: Initial revision
How does payable mean "required to be paid"?
Literally, "payABLE" means ABLE to pay. Ability differs from requirement. How did "payable" semantically shift to meaning 1 below? [payable | Search Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=payable) [Payable | Definition of Payable by Oxford Dictionary on Lexico.com also meaning of Payable](https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/payable) >1. (of money) required to be paid; due. >2. Able to be paid. >**payables** Debts owed by a business; liabilities. > [payable (adj.)](https://www.etymonline.com/word/payable#etymonline_v_35801 "Origin and meaning of payable") > > late 14c., paiable, "to be paid, that can be or is to be paid," from pay (v.) + \-able or from Old French paiable. From late 13c. as a surname, from the Old French word in its other sense, "of good quality."