potable

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English potable (“drinkable, potable”),^[1] from Middle French, Old French potable (modern French potable (“drinkable, potable”)), and from its etymon Late Latin pōtābilis (“drinkable, potable”), from Latin pōtāre (“to drink”) + -bilis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon).^[2] Pōtāre is the present active infinitive of pōtō (“to drink”), from Proto-Italic *pōtos, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₃- (“to drink”).

The English word is cognate with Catalan potable, Italian potabile, Spanish potable.^[2]

The noun is derived from the adjective.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpəʊtəbəl/, (non-standard) /ˈpɒt-/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpoʊtəbəl/, (non-standard) /ˈpɑt-/
• Homophone: pottable (non-standard)
• Hyphenation: pot‧a‧ble

potable (comparative more potable, superlative most potable)

1. (formal) Good for drinking without fear of waterborne disease or poisoning.

   Synonyms: drinkable, drinkworthy

   Hypernyms: ingestible, swallowable, consumable

   Coordinate terms: comestible, edible, eatable, eatworthy

   potable water

   The water from this river should not be considered potable without disinfection: you may be OK if you drink it raw, but you're gambling if you do so.

potable (plural potables)

1. Any drinkable liquid; a beverage.
   • 1708, [John Philips], “(please specify the page)”, in Cyder. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     When solar beams / Parch thirsty human veins, the damask'd meads, / Unforc'd display ten thousand painted flow'rs / Useful in potables.

• potent potable

• drinking water on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• optable

Borrowed from Latin pōtābilis.

• IPA^(key): /poˈtable/ [poˈt̪a.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: po‧ta‧ble

potable (epicene, plural potables)

1. potable (good for drinking)

   Synonym: bebediegu

Borrowed from Latin pōtābilis.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [puˈtab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [poˈtab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [poˈta.ble]

potable m or f (masculine and feminine plural potables)

1. potable

• “potable”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Borrowed from Late Latin pōtābilis, from Latin potō.

• IPA^(key): /pɔ.tabl/

• Audio:

  (file)

potable (plural potables)

1. potable
2. (colloquial) OK, passable

   Synonym: correct

   Tu penses quoi de la meuf de ton frère ? Potable, sans plus. ― What do you think about your brother's girlfriend? Alright‚ nothing more.

• “potable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Borrowed from Old French potable, from Latin pōtābilis.

• IPA^(key): /pɔˈtaːbəl/, /pɔːˈtaːbəl/

potable (rare, Late Middle English)

1. Suitable for drinking; potable.

• English: potable

• “pō̆tāble, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 22 August 2018.

Borrowed from Latin pōtābilis.

potable m (oblique and nominative feminine singular potable)

1. potable

Borrowed from Latin pōtābilis.

• IPA^(key): /poˈtable/ [poˈt̪a.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: po‧ta‧ble

potable m or f (masculine and feminine plural potables)

1. potable, drinkable

• “potable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

Borrowed from Spanish potable, from Latin pōtābilis.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /poˈtable/ [poˈt̪aː.blɛ]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: po‧ta‧ble

potable (Baybayin spelling ᜉᜓᜆᜊ᜔ᜎᜒ)

1. potable; drinkable

   Synonym: maiinom

• Cuadrado Muñiz, Adolfo (1972) Hispanismos en el tagalo: diccionario de vocablos de origen español vigentes en esta lengua filipina, Madrid: Oficina de Educación Iberoamericana, page 470