entry
feasible
/ˈfiː.zə.bəl/capable of being done in practice
From Latin via Old French and Anglo-French fac-/fais- (to do).
from Latin facere "to make, do, perform" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). Fowler recommends this word only for...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French faisable "possible, that may be done; easy, convenient,"
from Anglo-French faisible
Word Ancestry
from Latin facere "to make, do, perform" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). Fowler recommends this word only for...
+1 more sourcefrom Old French faisable "possible, that may be done; easy, convenient,"
from Anglo-French faisible
This is one of those words that looks polished enough to wear cufflinks. Under the gloss, though, it is just Latin facere in a fancier coat: the same doing-and-making engine that gave us fact, faculty, fashion, and even French faisable. English picked it up through Anglo-French faisible in the mid-15th century, when scribes loved a word that sounded precise and a little aristocratic. Fowler later poked fun at it for being the kind of word people use when ordinary words seem too ordinary. So when something is feasible, the old Roman verb for "make it happen" is still quietly standing behind the curtain, clipboard in hand.
The Story
This is one of those words that looks polished enough to wear cufflinks. Under the gloss, though, it is just Latin facere in a fancier coat: the same doing-and-making engine that gave us fact, faculty, fashion, and even French faisable. English picked it up through Anglo-French faisible in the mid-15th century, when scribes loved a word that sounded precise and a little aristocratic. Fowler later poked fun at it for being the kind of word people use when ordinary words seem too ordinary. So when something is feasible, the old Roman verb for "make it happen" is still quietly standing behind the curtain, clipboard in hand.
Kin & Kindred
From 'fac-/fais-'·to do, make, perform
Derived Terms
English words from this root