Etymograph

English

susceptible

Susceptible comes from Late Latin susceptibilis ‘susceptible to, capable of receiving’, from Latin susceptus ‘taken up, having been taken up, acknowledged,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kapyéti1‘to be grasping’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kapjō2‘to take, seize’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEkapiō2
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiō3‘seize’uncertain
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuscipiō4‘to take up, acknowledge’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsusceptus4‘taken up, having been taken up, acknowledged, having been acknowledged, undertaken’
  8. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsusceptibilis4‘susceptible to, capable of receiving’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1983susceptible4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjō
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin suscipio
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English susceptible
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1983, Topley & Wilson, General Microbiology & Immunity: “In either instance a decrease in the number of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjōreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kapyétiWiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjō‘to be grasping’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kapjōWiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV‘to take, seize’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEkapiōWiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiōWiktionary, Latin suscipio‘seize’uncertain
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuscipiōWiktionary, English susceptible‘to take up, acknowledge’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsusceptusWiktionary, English susceptible‘taken up, having been taken up, acknowledged, having been acknowledged, undertaken’
  8. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsusceptibilisWiktionary, English susceptible‘susceptible to, capable of receiving’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1983susceptibleWiktionary, English susceptible. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1983, Topley & Wilson, General Microbiology & Immunity: “In either instance a decrease in the number of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap-

had, head, capital, heavy, catch, captain, capacity, behavior, achieve, heavily, except, chapter, escape, cape, chef, cabin, haven, occupation, chapel, behave, capitol, cattle, capita, hawk, acceptance, precipitation, chaplain, cad, captive, captivity, conceive, mischief, haves, mischievous, capillary, chieftain, conceivable, precipitate, capo, cabana, 137 more

through Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti ‘to be grasping’

heave, heaving, heft, 27 more

through Proto-Italic *kapjō ‘to take, seize’

case, cashier, chassis, capsule, cassette, casket, cajon, kas, chasse, 26 more

through Archaic Latin kapiō

acceptable, imperceptible, 23 more

through Latin capiō ‘seize’

cash, receive, chase, cop, accept, capable, capture, recipe, cable, recipient, reception, perception, anticipation, anticipate, cater, caption, deceive, deception, deceit, deceptive, preoccupation, receivable, captor, captivate, sashay, preceptor, perceptible, 25 more

Today it means

adj Likely to be affected by something.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “susceptible”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *kapjō, Latin capio, Latin suscipio. 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 *kap- / susceptible

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