English
accable
Accable comes from French accabler ‘to overwhelm’, from Middle French chabler ‘hit’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷelH-1‘to hit by throwing’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷl̥-ne-h₁-1reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəlnō1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλω2‘to throw’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰτᾰβάλλω3‘to set down’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκαταβολή4‘building, structure, foundation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cadable4‘catapult’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600chabler4‘hit’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentaccabler5‘to overwhelm’
- Englishtodayaccable5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλω
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek καταβάλλω
- 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek καταβολή
- 4 Wiktionary, French accabler
- 5 Wiktionary, English accable
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷelH-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλω‘to hit by throwing’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷl̥-ne-h₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλωreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷəlnōWiktionary, Ancient Greek βάλλωreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβάλλωWiktionary, Ancient Greek καταβάλλω‘to throw’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰτᾰβάλλωWiktionary, Ancient Greek καταβολή‘to set down’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκαταβολήWiktionary, French accabler‘building, structure, foundation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400cadableWiktionary, French accabler‘catapult’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600chablerWiktionary, French accabler‘hit’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentaccablerWiktionary, English accable‘to overwhelm’
- EnglishtodayaccableWiktionary, English accable
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- ‘to hit by throwing’
ball, quail, quill, quell, obelisk, pul, 63 more
through Proto-Hellenic *gʷəlnō
symbolic, ballistic, symbolist, ballista, 34 more
through Ancient Greek βάλλω ‘to throw’
problem, symbol, devil, metabolic, hyperbolic, emblem, embolism, parabolic, anabolic, parable, metabolize, hyperbola, 33 more
through Ancient Greek καταβολή ‘building, structure, foundation’
Today it means
verb To overwhelm; to encumber.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “accable”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek βάλλω, Ancient Greek καταβάλλω, Ancient Greek καταβολή, French accabler. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- / accable