plausible (English)

Where does "plausible" come from?

The English adjective 'plausible' originates from Latin 'plausibilis', meaning 'deserving applause, praiseworthy, acceptable, or pleasing'[1]. This Latin term was formed by combining 'plausus', the perfect passive participle of the verb 'plaudō' meaning 'to applaud', with the suffix '-bilis'[2]. The underlying root 'plaudō' stretches back through the ancestral Proto-Indo-European language, specifically deriving from '*pleh₂-u-d-', meaning 'to clap the hands', which itself traces to the root '*pleh₂-', meaning 'flat'[5]. Over time, the meaning shifted from its original theatrical association with applause and public approval toward its modern English sense of seeming valid, acceptable, or likely to be true.

Full etymology tree

• plausible (English), 'Seemingly or apparently valid, likely, or acceptable; conceivably true or likely.'
  • borrowed plausibilis (Latin), 'plausible (worthy of being applauded)'
    • derived plausus (Latin), 'struck, beaten'
      • derived plaudo (Latin), 'to strike, beat, clap'
        • derived *pleh₂-u-d- (Proto-Indo-European)
          • derived *pleh₂-u-h₂- (Proto-Indo-European)
            • derived *pleh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), 'flat'
    • suffix -bilis (Latin), '-(a)ble; used to form an adjective, usually from a verb, indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon.'

Ancestors

• plausibilis (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

• implausible (English)
• nonplausible (English)
• overplausible (English)
• plausibility (English)
• plausible deniability (English)
• plausibleness (English)
• plausibly (English)
• semiplausible (English)
• unplausible (English)

Sources

1. plausible (English) - Wiktionary
2. plausibilis (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. bilis (Latin) - Wiktionary
4. plausus (Latin) - Wiktionary
5. plaudo (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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