Wordwyrt

fallible

/ˈfæləbəl/FA-luh-buhl
/ˈfæləbəl/FA-luh-buhl

Meaningdeceive

Common meaning: capable of making mistakes

Journey through time

  1. Aryan root · reconstructed√SPAL‘stumble, to fall’No written record; from Skeat’s list of Aryan roots, no. 443, p. 746 · scan
  2. Latinfallere‘deceive’source
  3. Late Latinmeaning shiftsdeceive → liable to errorfallibilis‘liable to error’source
  4. Englishmeaning shiftsliable to error → capable of making mistakesfallible‘capable of making mistakes’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin fallere ‘deceive’.

Roots

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