mendable (English)

Where does "mendable" come from?

The English adjective 'mendable' is formed by combining the verb 'mend' with the suffix '-able'[1]. The base word 'mend' comes from Middle English 'menden', a shortened form of 'amenden'[3], which descends through Anglo-Norman and Old French 'amender'[3] from the Latin verb 'ēmendāre'[3]. This Latin term traces back to 'ē-', meaning 'away' or 'out', combined with 'mendum', meaning 'defect' or 'error'[3], which ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root '*mend-'[3]. The suffix '-able' enters the word via Middle English and Old French from the Latin adjective 'habilis'[2], meaning 'easily managed, held, or handled'[2].

Full etymology tree

mendable (English), 'Able to be mended.'
- compound mend (English), 'To physically repair (something that is broken, defaced, decayed, torn, or otherwise damaged).'
  - derived menden (Middle English), 'cure'
    - derived amenden (Middle English)
      - borrowed amender (Old French), 'to correct; to set right'
        inherited emendare (Latin), 'inflection of ēmendō:'
        derived emendo (Latin), 'dative/ablative gerund of emō'
        prefix e- (Latin), 'alternative form of ex- (combining with b-, d-, g-, j-, l-, m-, n-, r-, and v-initial words)'
        derived mendum (Latin), 'fault, error, blunder (of writing)'
        inherited *mend- (Proto-Indo-European), 'foal, small horse'
  - borrowed amender (Old French), 'to correct; to set right'
    - inherited emendare (Latin), 'inflection of ēmendō:'
      - derived emendo (Latin), 'dative/ablative gerund of emō'
        prefix e- (Latin), 'alternative form of ex- (combining with b-, d-, g-, j-, l-, m-, n-, r-, and v-initial words)'
        derived mendum (Latin), 'fault, error, blunder (of writing)'
        inherited *mend- (Proto-Indo-European), 'foal, small horse'
- suffix -able (English), 'An adjectival suffix; forms adjectives meaning:'
  - inherited able (Middle English), 'capable, expert, qualified, skilful, competent.'
    - inherited able (Old French), 'able; capable'
      - derived habile (Old French)
        inherited habilis (Latin), 'able to have/possess/maintain'
        derived habeo (Latin), 'to have, hold'
        inherited *haβēō (Proto-Italic), 'to have, hold'
        derived *haβējō (Proto-Italic)
        derived *gʰeh₁bʰ-éh₁-ye-ti (Proto-Indo-European)
        inherited *gʰeh₁bʰ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to grab, take'
        suffix -ilis (Latin), '-ile; forms adjectives of relation, frequently passive, to verbs.'

Ancestors

mend (English)
able (English)

Descendants and derived words

unmendable (English)

Sources

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris