English
movability
Movability comes from Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’, and goes back to 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 CEmovēre1
- Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400mover1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500moven1
- English1500–presentmove1
- Englishearliest quotation 1875movability1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English movability
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1875, to December, The Dublin Journal of Medical Science: “His progressive improvement will be best indicated by noting…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-Wiktionary, English movability‘to move’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyetiWiktionary, English movabilityreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweōWiktionary, English movability‘to move’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmovēreWiktionary, English movability
- Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400moverWiktionary, English movability
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500movenWiktionary, English movability
- English1500–presentmoveWiktionary, English movability
- Englishearliest quotation 1875movabilityWiktionary, English movability. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1875, to December, The Dublin Journal of Medical Science: “His progressive improvement will be best indicated by noting…”
A compound of move + -ability
Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move, drive’
…
Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’
Latin moveō ‘move’
Old Northern French mover ‘to move’
Middle English moven
English move
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move’
through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)owh₁éyeti
automotive, automobile, promoter, remover, emotionless, immobile, 81 more
through Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’
emotional, auto, promote, remove, motor, mobile, promotion, remote, emotion, momentum, motive, motivate, motif, mobility, mobilization, removable, mobilize, emote, mobilisation, mobilise, motile, motility, 87 more
through Latin movēre
through Middle English moven
through English move
Today it means
noun The condition of being movable; ability or capacity to be moved.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “movability”. 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- / movability