personable

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personable

/ˈpɜːsn̩əbl/
/ˈpɜːs(ə)nəbəl/
/ˈpɜɹs(ə)nəb(ə)l/ US

Where it comes from

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’).

adjective more personable · most personable · parsonable · personible

Of a person: having a pleasing appearance; attractive; handsome. We ſee one woman, whiche by one man hath manie children, of theym ſome be fayre and perſonable, ſome ill fauoured and croked, […]
Similar: good-looking, attractive, beauteous, beautifool, beautiful, beautimous, bona vardering, bonnie, breathtaking, captivating, comely, cute · Opposite: unattractive, unpersonable, brendan, bad, beat, butters, butt-ugly, clapped, coyote ugly, deform, fuckfaced, fugly
Of a person: having a pleasant manner; amiable, friendly. 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.
Similar: affable, agreeable, likeable, affectionate, amiable, bonhomous, amicable, chummy, companionable, congenial, cordial, facile · Opposite: unpersonable, adverse, antagonistic, conflicting, contentious, counteracting, hostile, incompatible, inharmonious, inimical, irreconcilable, opposed
obsolete, rare Synonym of personal (“done in person, without an intermediary”).
Similar: personal
obsolete Being a legal person and thus able to maintain a plea in court, or to hold some property or right. 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 b

Translations

Every language

adj of a person: having a pleasant manner — see also amiable, friendly

Español	amable, simpatico
Deutsch	ansehnlich, freundlich, sympathisch, von angenehmer Erscheinung
Русский	приятный prijatnyj

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MLA

"personable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/personable. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

personable. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/personable

Chicago

"personable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/personable.

BibTeX

@misc{personable_2026,
  title = {personable},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/personable},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}