From Latin 'capabilis' (able to take), from 'capere' (to seize) — competence as a metaphor of grasping.
Definition
Having the ability, fitness, or quality necessary to do or achieve something; competent.
The Full Story
Latin16th centurywell-attested
From LateLatin 'capābilis' (able to take or hold, receptive, havingsufficient capacity), from Latin 'capere' (to take, to seize, to hold, to contain), from PIE *keh₂p- (to grasp, to seize). The semantic shift ran: physically able to contain → having sufficient capacity → having the ability or skill to do something. French 'capable' was the immediate model for the Englishborrowing
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The legal term 'capable' preserves the oldest sense most faithfully — in law, to be 'capable' of inheriting or 'capable' of holding office means to be entitled to 'take' or 'hold' something, directlyechoing Latin 'capere.' The everyday sense of 'competent, able' is a laterabstraction.
), 'deceive' (take away from), 'perceive' (take thoroughly), 'receive' (take back), 'intercept' (take between), 'capacity,' 'capture,' 'case' (a container), and 'chase' (to pursue in order to take) all trace back to this root. The figurative
capere(Latin (to take, seize, hold))capax(Latin (spacious, able to hold much))kavati(Sanskrit (he hews out — same PIE root *keh₂p-))capable(French (same form, direct model for English))hafjan(Gothic (to lift, grasp — Germanic cognate))