English
emotionable
Emotionable comes from Middle French emotion, from esmouvoir ‘to move’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-1‘to move’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyeti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweō1‘to move’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveō1‘to move, stir, set in motion’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEēmoveō1‘to move out or away, remove’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*exmovēre1reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400esmovoir1‘to move’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600esmouvoir1‘to move’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600emotion1
- English1500–presentemotion1
- Englishearliest quotation 1887emotionable1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English emotionable
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1887, Emily Lawless, Hurrish: A Study: “His was the genuine Celtic temperament—poetic, excitable, emotionable, unreasoning.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-Wiktionary, English emotionable‘to move’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyetiWiktionary, English emotionablereconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweōWiktionary, English emotionable‘to move’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveōWiktionary, English emotionable‘to move, stir, set in motion’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEēmoveōWiktionary, English emotionable‘to move out or away, remove’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*exmovēreWiktionary, English emotionablereconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400esmovoirWiktionary, English emotionable‘to move’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600esmouvoirWiktionary, English emotionable‘to move’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600emotionWiktionary, English emotionable
- English1500–presentemotionWiktionary, English emotionable
- Englishearliest quotation 1887emotionableWiktionary, English emotionable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1887, Emily Lawless, Hurrish: A Study: “His was the genuine Celtic temperament—poetic, excitable, emotionable, unreasoning.”
A compound of emotion + -able
Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move’
…
Vulgar Latin *exmovēre
Old French esmovoir ‘to move’
Middle French esmouvoir ‘to move’
Middle French emotion
English emotion
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move’
through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)owh₁éyeti
through Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’
move, momentum, automobile, automotive, promoter, immobile, 86 more
through Latin moveō ‘to move, stir, set in motion’
mobile, auto, remove, promote, motor, remote, mobility, promotion, motive, motivate, mobilize, motif, mobilization, removable, mobilise, mobilisation, motility, motile, 65 more
through English emotion
Today it means
adj Particularly expressive of or affected by emotion.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “emotionable”. 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 *m(y)ewh₁- / emotionable