-ble

¹ American  

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

---

B.L.E. ² American  

abbreviation

1. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

---

Etymology

Origin of -ble

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

Example Sentences

In Shakespeare many adjectives, especially those ending in -ful, -less, -ble, and -ive, have both an active and a passive meaning.

From The New Hudson Shakespeare: Julius Cæsar by Black, Ebenezer Charlton

These mostly come through French and change the suffix into -ble.

From Society for Pure English Tract 4 The Pronunciation of English Words Derived from the Latin by Sargeaunt, John

See -able. -ble, -ple, fold, as double, treble, quadruple.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various