Etymograph

English

acceptable

Acceptable comes from Late Latin acceptābilis ‘worthy of acceptance’, from Latin capiō ‘to take’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kapyéti1‘to be grasping’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kapjō2‘to take, seize’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEkapiō2
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiō3‘to take’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaccipiō4‘to receive, accept, take’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEacceptō4
  8. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEacceptābilis5‘worthy of acceptance’
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600acceptable6
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500acceptable5‘Pleasant, agreeable’
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1811acceptable5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjō
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin accipio
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Latin acceptabilis
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English acceptable
  6. 6 Wiktionary, Middle English acceptable
  7. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1811, Jane Austen, London: […] C[harles] Roworth: “'[…] The other day, as soon as we came…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjōreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kapyétiWiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjō‘to be grasping’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kapjōWiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV‘to take, seize’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEkapiōWiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiōWiktionary, Latin accipio‘to take’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEaccipiōWiktionary, Latin acceptabilis‘to receive, accept, take’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEacceptōWiktionary, Latin acceptabilis
  8. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEacceptābilisWiktionary, English acceptable‘worthy of acceptance’
  9. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600acceptableWiktionary, Middle English acceptable
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500acceptableWiktionary, English acceptable‘Pleasant, agreeable’
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1811acceptableWiktionary, English acceptable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1811, Jane Austen, London: […] C[harles] Roworth: “'[…] The other day, as soon as we came…”

Formed from accept + -able

Middle English accepten ‘to accept’

English accept

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap-

had, head, heavy, catch, capital, behavior, escape, captain, capacity, heavily, except, chapter, achieve, cape, chef, haven, occupation, chapel, behave, capitol, cattle, cabin, hawk, capita, captive, precipitation, chaplain, captivity, cad, mischief, conceive, mischievous, haves, capillary, chieftain, capo, conceivable, capa, precipitate, caddie, 138 more

through Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti ‘to be grasping’

heave, heaving, heft, 28 more

through Proto-Italic *kapjō ‘to take, seize’

case, cashier, capsule, chassis, cassette, casket, cajon, kas, chasse, 27 more

through Archaic Latin kapiō

imperceptible, 24 more

through Latin capiō ‘to take’

cash, receive, chase, cop, capture, recipe, capable, cable, recipient, reception, perception, anticipation, anticipate, caption, cater, deception, deceive, deceit, susceptible, deceptive, preoccupation, captor, captivate, receivable, sashay, perceptible, preceptor, 25 more

Today it means

adj Capable, worthy, or sure of being accepted or received with pleasure; welcome; gratifying; pleasing to a receiver.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “acceptable”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *kapjō, Latin capio, Latin accipio, Latin acceptabilis, Middle English acceptable. 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 *kap- / acceptable

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