different between able vs handy

English

Alternative forms

• (obsolete) hable

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?e?.bl?/, /?e?.b?l/
• Rhymes: -e?b?l
• Homophone: Abel

Etymology 1

From Middle English able, from Old Northern French able, variant of Old French abile, habile, from Latin habilis (“easily managed, held, or handled; apt; skillful”), from habe? (“have, possess”) +? -ibilis.

Adjective

able (comparative abler, superlative ablest)

1. (obsolete) Easy to use. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 18^th century.]
2. (obsolete) Suitable; competent. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 18^th century.]
3. (obsolete, dialectal) Liable to. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
4. Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
5. Free from constraints preventing completion of task; permitted to; not prevented from. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]

6. (obsolete, dialectal) Having the physical strength; robust; healthy. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]

7. (obsolete) Rich; well-to-do. [Attested from the mid 16^th century until the late 19^th century.]

8. Gifted with skill, intelligence, knowledge, or competence. [First attested in the mid 16^th century.]
9. (law) Legally qualified or competent. [First attested in the early 18^th century.]

10. (nautical) Capable of performing all the requisite duties; as an able seaman. [First attested in the late 18^th century.]

Usage notes

• In standard English, one is "able to do something". In some older texts representing various dialects, particularly Irish English, or black speech, "able for do something" is found instead, and in some Caribbean dialects "able with" is sometimes found.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:skillful

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English ablen, from Middle English able (adjective).

Verb

able (third-person singular simple present ables, present participle abling, simple past and past participle abled)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To make ready. [Attested from around (1150 to 1350) until the late 16^th century.]
2. (transitive, obsolete) To make capable; to enable. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 19^th century.]
3. (transitive, obsolete) To dress. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 15^th century.]
4. (transitive, obsolete) To give power to; to reinforce; to confirm. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 17^th century.]
5. (transitive, obsolete) To vouch for; to guarantee. [Attested from the late 16^th century until the early 17^th century.]

Derived terms

• abled

Translations

Etymology 3

From the first letter of the word. Suggested in the 1916 United States Army Signal Book to distinguish the letter when communicating via telephone, and later adopted in other radio and telephone signal standards.

Noun

able (uncountable)

1. (military) The letter "A" in Navy Phonetic Alphabet.

References

Anagrams

• Abel, Bale, Beal, Blea, Ebla, Elba, albe, bael, bale, beal, blea

French

Noun

able m (plural ables)

1. a vernacular name of the common bleak (usually called ablette)
2. a vernacular name of the sunbleak or moderlieschen, also called able de Heckel
3. (rare) a vernacular name of any of some other related fishes in the genus Alburnus (Cyprinidae)

Further reading

• “able” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• Abel, Bâle, béal, bêla

Old French

Alternative forms

• abile
• abille
• habile

Etymology

Latin habilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?a.bl?/

Adjective

able m (oblique and nominative feminine singular able)

1. able; capable

Declension

Descendants

• French: habile
  • ? Romanian: abil
• ? Middle Dutch: abel
  • Dutch: abel
• ? Middle English: able, habil
  • English: able, habile
    • ? Welsh: abl

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ebl/
• (South Scots) IPA^(key): /j?bl/

Adjective

able (comparative mair able, superlative maist able)

1. able, substantial, physically fit, strong, shrewd, cute
2. (obsolete) well-to-do, rich

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English handy, hondi (attested in personal names), alteration of earlier hendi (“handy, skillful”), from Old English hendi? (“skillful”) (as in listhendi? (“skilled in art”)), from Proto-Germanic *handugaz (“handy, skillful, nimble”), from *handuz (“hand”), equivalent to hand +? -y. Cognate with Middle Low German handich (“skillful, apt”), Middle High German handec, hendec (“manual, hand-held”), Old Norse h?ndugr (“efficient”), Gothic ???????????????????????????? (handugs, “wise, clever”). Akin to Dutch handig (“handy”), Norwegian hendig (“handy”), Swedish händig (“handy”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: h?n'di, IPA^(key): /?hæn.di/
• Rhymes: -ændi

Adjective

handy (comparative handier, superlative handiest)

1. Easy to use, useful.

2. Nearby, within reach.

   Synonym: at hand

3. Of a person: dexterous, skilful.

   Synonym: crafty

4. (slang) Physically violent; tending to use one's fists.
5. Of a freight ship: having a small cargo capacity (less than 40,000 DWT); belonging to the handysize class.

Derived terms

• handily
• handiness
• unhandy

Antonyms

• awkward

Translations

References

• handy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• handy in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• handy at OneLook Dictionary Search

Etymology 2

hand +? -y (“diminutive suffix”)

Noun

handy (plural handies)

1. (vulgar, slang) A hand job.

Translations

Etymology 3

Clipping of handgun +? -y (“diminutive suffix”)

Noun

handy (plural handies)

1. (MLE, slang) A handgun.

Translations

Anagrams

• Haydn

Scots

Adjective

handy (comparative handier, superlative handiest)

1. handy
2. dexterous, skilful
3. amenable (of an animal)