Etymograph

English

commandable

Commandable comes from Middle English comaundable ‘Possible to control’, from comaunden ‘to command’, and ultimately from Latin commandāre.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommandāre1
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400comander1‘to command, to implore’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comaunden2‘to command’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comaundable3‘Possible to control’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2009commandable3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English comaunden
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English comaundable
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English commandable
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Martha Fineman, Karen Worthington: “According to this argument, love is an emotion and…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommandāreWiktionary, Middle English comaunden
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400comanderWiktionary, Middle English comaunden‘to command, to implore’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comaundenWiktionary, Middle English comaundable‘to command’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comaundableWiktionary, English commandable‘Possible to control’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2009commandableWiktionary, English commandable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2009, Martha Fineman, Karen Worthington: “According to this argument, love is an emotion and…”

Linked words

through Old French comander ‘to command, to implore’

commodore, commandment, 4 more

Today it means

adj Capable of being commanded.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “commandable”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Middle English comaunden, Middle English comaundable. 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 / Latin commandāre / commandable

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