capable

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French capable, from Late Latin capābilis.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪ.pə.bəl/, [ˈkʰeɪ̯.pə.bɫ̩]

• Audio (US); [ˈkʰeɪ̯.pə.bɫ̩]:

  (file)

• (nonstandard) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪ.bə.bəl/
• 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.

   • 1732, John Conybeare, A Defence of Reveal'd Religion Against the Exceptions of a Late Writer, in His Book, Intituled, Christianity as Old as the Creation, &c, Simon & Schuster, page 18:

     They are neither capable of forming to themſelves a Rule, nor of diſcovering a Law-giver, nor of having the Rule enforc’d on them by the Proſpect of future Good or Ill.

   • 1972, Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 17:

     The attainment of the skills of elementary reading occurred some time ago for almost all who read this book. Nevertheless, we continue to experience the problems of this level of reading, no matter how capable we may be as readers.

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.

   • 1695, John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, page 108:

     [...] deſignation only to thoſe things, which have parts, and are capable of increaſe or diminution [...]

   • 1754, Thomas Chubb, A Collection of Tracts on Various Subjects, volume 2, page 43:

     Again, I farther obſerve, that as man is a compound being, ſo this renders him capable of ſeveral diſtinct kinds of pleaſure [...]

   • 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)
• capableness
• capably
• dual-capable aircraft
• handicapable
• noncapable
• overcapable
• supercapable
• ultracapable
• uncapable

Translations

able and efficient

• Albanian: Aftë
• Arabic: قَادِر (ar) (qādir)

  Hijazi Arabic: قادِر (gādir)

• Aromanian: putut
• Basque: gai
• Belarusian: здо́льны (zdólʹny)
• Bengali: সক্ষম (bn) (sôkshôm)
• Bulgarian: спосо́бен (bg) (sposóben), кадъ́рен (bg) (kadắren)
• 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
• Marathi: सक्षम (sakṣam)
• 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

  Latin: 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 (ur)
• 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)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Adjective

capable (plural capables)

1. able, capable

Descendants

• Mauritian Creole: kapav, kapab
• → Russian: капа́бельный (kapábelʹnyj)

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. Ducœurjoly (1802), Manuel des habitans de Saint-Domingue [Manual of the Inhabitants of Saint-Domingue]‎^[1] (in French), Paris