-ble

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variant of -able (soluble); occurring first in words of Latin origin that came into English through French, later in words taken directly from Latin.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!

Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between "it’s" and "its" in this crafty quiz!

Question 1 of 8

On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

Origin of -ble

Middle English <Old French <Latin -bilem, accusative of -bilis (masculine and feminine) or <-bile (neuter) adj. suffix

B.L.E.

abbreviation

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

This is so true that the monogram can still be seen on the column of the Halle au Ble, which was built by Catherine alone.
Catherine de' Medici|Honore de Balzac
Indeed, neighboring places, such as Mar-ble-head and Salem, even offered to let Boston merchants use their port free of charge.
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies|H. A. (Hlne Adeline) Guerber
Lucretia Borgia, with all them tur'ble recordin' notches on the handle!
Motor Matt's Daring, or, True to His Friends|Stanley R. Matthews
You may've noticed 't I'm jush trifle—er, well, some people ud shay zhrunk, Toffski—rude 'n' dish'gree'ble people dshay zhrunk.
Tin-Types Taken in the Streets of New York|Lemuel Ely Quigg

Somewheres out yonder in Texas they tell me there's yit a consid'ble stretch of unconquered Confederate territory.
Those Times And These|Irvin S. Cobb