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capable

 [key-puh-buhl]   Example Sentences Origin

ca·pa·ble

   [key-puh-buhl]
adjective
1.
having power and ability; efficient; competent: a capable instructor.
Idiom
2.
capable of,
a.
having the ability or capacity for: a man capable of judging art.
b.
open to the influence or effect of; susceptible of: a situation capable of improvement.
c.
predisposed to; inclined to: capable of murder.

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Capable is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
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Origin:
1555–65; < Late Latin capābilis roomy, apparently equivalent to cap(āx) roomy + -ābilis able; see capacity

Related forms
ca·pa·ble·ness, noun
ca·pa·bly, adverb
o·ver·ca·pa·ble, adjective
qua·si-ca·pa·ble, adjective
qua·si-ca·pa·b·ly, adverb
EXPAND
su·per·ca·pa·ble, adjective
su·per·ca·pa·ble·ness, noun
su·per·ca·pa·b·ly, adverb
COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. skillful, ingenious, accomplished. See able.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To capable
Example Sentences
  • Radio waves, although capable of going through the human body, have an energy too low to damage it.
  • It's easy to play yet capable of great subtlety; a skillful player can make notes bend and quiver and sigh.
  • They grew into adults, capable of reproducing every 55 days and during all seasons of the year.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
capable (ˈkeɪpəbəl)
 
—adj (foll by of) (foll by of)
1.  having ability, esp in many different fields; competent
2.  able or having the skill (to do something): she is capable of hard work
3.  having the temperament or inclination (to do something): he seemed capable of murder
 
[C16: from French, from Late Latin capābilis able to take in, from Latin capere to take]
 
'capableness
 
—n
 
'capably
 
—adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

capable
1561, from L.L. capabilis "receptive," used by theologians, from L. capax "able to hold much," adj. form of capere "to take, grasp, lay hold, catch, undertake, be large enough for, comprehend," from PIE *kap- "to grasp" (cf. Skt. kapati "two handfuls," Gk. kaptein "to swallow, gulp down," Lett. kampiu
EXPAND
"seize," O.Ir. cacht "servant-girl," lit. "captive," Welsh caeth "captive, slave," Goth. haban "have, hold," O.E. hæft "handle," habban "to have, hold;" see have).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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