Etymograph

English

visibility

Visibility comes from Latin vīsibilis ‘that may be seen, visible’, from videō ‘see’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-1‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*widéh₁yeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*widēō1‘to see’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvideō1‘see’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīsibilis2‘that may be seen, visible’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEvisibilitas3
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600visibilité3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1791visibility3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin visibilis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin visibilitas
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English visibility
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson: “‘Sir, I have seen all the visibilities of Paris,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weyd-Wiktionary, Latin visibilis‘to see’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*widéh₁yetiWiktionary, Latin visibilisreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*widēōWiktionary, Latin visibilis‘to see’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvideōWiktionary, Latin visibilis‘see’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīsibilisWiktionary, Latin visibilitas‘that may be seen, visible’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEvisibilitasWiktionary, English visibility
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600visibilitéWiktionary, English visibility
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1791visibilityWiktionary, English visibility. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson: “‘Sir, I have seen all the visibilities of Paris,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weyd- ‘to see’

story, guy, idea, guide, advice, witness, historic, wise, wisdom, idol, wizard, historian, advise, wit, steroid, guise, tabloid, witty, revue, envious, druid, visitation, improvise, envision, hypothyroidism, twit, avis, idyll, parathyroid, trapezoid, hyoid, witter, hyperthyroidism, colloid, weet, thyroxine, sigmoid, thyroiditis, visite, 91 more

through Proto-Indo-European *widéh₁yeti

providential, 13 more

through Proto-Italic *widēō ‘to see’

provision, providence, revision, prudential, jurisprudence, provident, vada, evidential, 15 more

through Latin videō ‘see’

video, provide, evidence, review, interview, visit, vision, evident, visa, prudent, vista, revise, prudence, vide, purview, voyeur, purveyor, proviso, invidious, 18 more

through Latin vīsibilis ‘that may be seen, visible’

invisible, 2 more

Today it means

noun The condition of being visible.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “visibility”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin visibilis, Latin visibilitas. 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 *weyd- / visibility

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