Definition of POTABLE

potable

Plural: potables

Noun

  • A liquid that is safe and suitable for human consumption.
  • any liquid suitable for drinking
  • Any drinkable liquid; a beverage.

Adjective

  • suitable for drinking

Adj

  • Good for drinking without fear of waterborne disease or poisoning.

Examples

  • He reached for a cool POTABLE after a grueling Scrabble match, needing to rehydrate.
  • potable water
  • The water from this river should not be considered potable without disinfection: you may be OK if you drink it raw, but you're gambling if you do so.

Origin / Etymology

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English potable (“drinkable, potable”), from Middle French, Old French potable (modern French potable (“drinkable, potable”)), and from its etymon Late Latin pōtābilis (“drinkable, potable”), from Latin pōtāre (“to drink”) + -bilis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon). Pōtāre is the present active infinitive of pōtō (“to drink”), from Proto-Italic *pōtos, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₃- (“to drink”).
The English word is cognate with Catalan potable, Italian potabile, Spanish potable.
The noun is derived from the adjective.

Antonyms

undrinkable

Scrabble Score: 11

potable: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
potable: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
potable: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

potable: valid Words With Friends Word