PERMANENT SOURCE RECORD
ALL SOURCES ↗BIBLIOGRAPHIC IDENTITYetymonline-legible
SOURCE
RECORD.
One work. Every claim that depends on it. No citation without a consequence you can inspect.
5 PUBLIC LINKS INTO THE GRAPH.
This count excludes duplicate dossier-path citations. Open the claims below to see exactly how the source is used.
historical dictionaryetymonline-legible
Legible — Origin and history
- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Douglas Harper
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Online Etymology Dictionary
- DOI
- Not recorded
- SOURCE TYPE
- historical dictionary
- EXTERNAL RECORD
- OPEN ORIGINAL ↗
010
CONTRARIAN TRUTH CLAIMS
RANKED REVEALS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
No ranked contrarian reveal currently cites this source.
021
SCHOLARLY DISAGREEMENT
DISPUTE POSITIONS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
resolvedcontextestablished
Did legible begin as a word for general understandability?
The secure formation is literal reading: Late Latin legibilis from legere “to read.” Discernible and understandable are later or extended senses, not the morphological source.
Headword etymology and chronologyDocuments “that can be read” and the late-fourteenth-century horizon.
032
CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP CLAIMS
EDGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
EDGE 448contextestablished
legible → legible
Present-Day English → Middle English · historical continuation
- SOUND
- The Middle English learned form stabilizes as modern legible with later English stress and vowel development.
- MEANING
- Literal readability remains primary while discernibility and understandability become figurative extensions.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster · American Heritage editors
Headword chronologyPlaces the English adjective in the late fourteenth century.
EDGE 450contextestablished
legibilis → legere
Latin → Latin · derivation
- SOUND
- Late Latin legibilis is formed from Latin legere “to read” with an ability suffix.
- MEANING
- The activity of reading becomes the quality of being readable.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster · American Heritage · Etymonline editors
Headword etymology: legibilis “that can be read”Supplies the ability meaning and deeper root comparison.
040
LEXICAL ATTESTATIONS
WITNESSES REPORTED BY THIS SOURCE
No lexical witness currently cites this source.
051
COMPARATIVE EVIDENCE
COGNATES, DESCENDANTS, AND RELATIVES
illegible
Englishnegative derivative of legible
061
GEOGRAPHIC AND TEMPORAL CLAIMS
JOURNEY STAGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
stage 3context
England
Preserves the earlier secondary chronology without converting it into an exact year.
Headword chronology: late 14th century · regional070
NON-GENEALOGICAL CONNECTIONS
HISTORICAL CONTEXT, KEPT SEPARATE
No non-genealogical context link currently cites this source.
081
WORD-FAMILY REUSE
DOSSIERS THAT DEPEND ON THIS SOURCE
2 entry-scoped citations map reviewed dossier paths onto the canonical claims above.