Etymograph

English

alible

Alible comes from Latin alibilis ‘able to provide nourishment, nutritious,…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-1‘to grow, nourish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂életi2‘grow, nourish’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*alō2reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalō3‘feed, nourish’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalibilis3‘able to provide nourishment, nutritious, nourishing’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1827alible3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₂életi
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin alo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English alible
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1827, F. J. V. Broussais, A Treatise on Physiology applied to Pathology: “[…] Alible substances, of the most healthy kind, may…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂el-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₂életi‘to grow, nourish’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂életiWiktionary, Latin alo‘grow, nourish’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*alōWiktionary, Latin aloreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalōWiktionary, English alible‘feed, nourish’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEalibilisWiktionary, English alible‘able to provide nourishment, nutritious, nourishing’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1827alibleWiktionary, English alible. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1827, F. J. V. Broussais, A Treatise on Physiology applied to Pathology: “[…] Alible substances, of the most healthy kind, may…”

first attested First attested in c. 1650 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

First attested in c. 1650.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- ‘to grow, nourish’

as, all, old, else, adult, el, ultimate, element, ultra, elder, alternate, outrage, alter, ellen, ou, alien, altitude, alumni, qualification, altar, alt, adolescent, alpine, abolish, alto, alum, auld, alias, ulterior, proletariat, altruism, retaliate, alp, parallax, aad, eld, foetal, exalt, althea, alibi, 65 more

through Latin alō ‘feed, nourish’

ambulance, ambulatory, alimony, ambler, amble, 19 more

Today it means

adj Nourishing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “alible”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₂életi, Latin alo. 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 *h₂el- / alible

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