Word origin
[1400–50; late ME ‹ MF ‹ LL
hērēdit(
āre) to inherit, deriv. of L
hērēd- (s. of
hērēs)
heir + MF
-able -able]This word is first recorded in the period 1400–50. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: curl, dial, mature, partition, transit-able is a suffix meaning “capable of, susceptible of, fit for, tending to, given to,”associated in meaning with the word able, occurring in loanwords from Latin (laudable); used in English as a highly productive suffix to form adjectives by addition tostems of any origin (teachable; photographable)