Etymograph

English

compatibility

Compatibility comes from Latin compatibilis ‘compatible, jointly tenable’, from patibilis ‘tolerable, endurable’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pet-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pet-1uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpatior1‘to suffer’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpatibilis2‘tolerable, endurable’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompatibilis3‘compatible, jointly tenable’
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900compatibilitās4
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2019compatibility4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin patibilis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin compatibilis
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin compatibilitas
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English compatibility
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, Ian Walmsley, Cleaning up: “One huge self-inflicted wound the industry is now suffering…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pet-Wiktionary, Latin patibilisuncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpatiorWiktionary, Latin patibilis‘to suffer’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpatibilisWiktionary, Latin compatibilis‘tolerable, endurable’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompatibilisWiktionary, Latin compatibilitas‘compatible, jointly tenable’
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900compatibilitāsWiktionary, English compatibility
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2019compatibilityWiktionary, English compatibility. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, Ian Walmsley, Cleaning up: “One huge self-inflicted wound the industry is now suffering…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pet-

compassionate, petal, fathom, 3 more

through Latin patior ‘to suffer’

patient, passion, patience, 9 more

Today it means

noun The state of being compatible; in which two or more things are able to exist or work together in combination without problems or conflict.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “compatibility”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin patibilis, Latin compatibilis, Latin compatibilitas. 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 *pet- / compatibility

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