personable
Part of speech: adj
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: law
Etymology: From Late Middle English personable, personabil (“having a pleasing appearance, handsome”), and then from both of the following:
* For sense 1 (“having a pleasing appearance”) and sense 2 (“having a pleasant manner”) (these senses are not found in Old French or Medieval Latin), probably from person, personne, persoun (“individual, person”) + -āble (suffix meaning ‘able or worthy to be’ forming adjectives).
* For sense 3.1 (“synonym of personal”) and sense 3.2 (“being a legal person”), from Middle French personable and Old French personable, and from their etymon Medieval Latin personābilis (“personal”), possibly from Medieval Latin persōna (“person”) + Latin -ābilis (suffix meaning ‘able or worthy to be’).
By surface analysis, person + -able (suffix meaning ‘relevant or suitable to’).
Inflected forms:
form: more personable
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most personable
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: parsonable
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: personible
pos: adj
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: Of a person: having a pleasing appearance; attractive; handsome.
pos: adj
examples: I vvas Tall and Perſonable, but a little too ſmooth Fac'd for a Man; hovvever as I ſeldom vvent Abroad, but in the Night it did vvell enough; […]
I admit him a personable man, for I have seen him; and I will suppose him courteous and agreeable.
He regarded himself as dressed. Barefoot, bare-chested, radiant and personable against the shadowy woods, he called: "Hullo, Miss Honeychurch! Hullo!"
gloss: Of a person: having a pleasant manner; amiable, friendly.
pos: adj
examples: A thouſand thoughts ſhe faſhioned in her mind, / And in her feigning fancie did pourtray / Him ſuch, as fitteſt he for loue could find, / VViſe, vvarlike, perſonable, courteous, and kind.
I'm bound to admit that you're a personable young rascal, with the best manners I've met in a long time, but I warn you that you can't go far.
Aside from being incredibly funny and personable he [David] Letterman is generous, kind and is great fun to play catch with.
The much more sophisticated and personable chatbots of today are the “Eliza effect on steroids,” [Sherry] Turkle said.
gloss: Synonym of personal (“done in person, without an intermediary”).
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
rare
gloss: Being a legal person and thus able to maintain a plea in court, or to hold some property or right.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: It is enacted, that the Kings Letters Patents hereafter enſuing made to Queen Elizabeth of her dovver, ſhall be good, and that the Queen be by that name perſonable to plead, and be impleaded, that parcell of her dovver aſſigned by the Kings Letters Patents under the ſeal of the Dutchy of Lancaſter be good, albeit there be no livery and ſeiſin delivered vpon the ſame, vvherein are certain proviſions.
The demaundant vvas iudged perſonable to maintaine this action. […] The tenent pleaded that the vvife vvas an alien borne in Portingall vvithout the ligeance of the King, and Iudgement vvas asked vvhether ſhe vvould be anſvvered. The plaintife ſaith: ſhee vvas made perſonable by Parlament, that is, as the Ciuillians vvould ſpeake it, habere perſonam ſtandi in iudicio.
Derived words: impersonable
personability
personableness
personably
unpersonable
Translations: