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DictionaryRoot: -abilis
Latin

-abilis

able to be; fit for

Forms

  • -abilis
  • -able — English ending developed through French.

Origin

Latin verb-stem vowel -a- plus -bilis, a suffix expressing capacity or suitability.

Note

Once borrowed, English attached this ending freely to its own words.

57 / 95
Surrounded by evidence of many finished servings, a diner eagerly reaches for another substantial meal, visibly undeterred by how much he has already eaten.
adjective

insatiable

in-SAY-shuh-bul/ɪnˈseɪʃəbl/

Always wanting more and impossible to satisfy.

Etymology
inLatinnot; without
+satiLatinfill full, satisfy
+ableLatinable to be; fit for

Satiare means to fill something full or satisfy it, so insatiable describes what cannot reach that point. The image is of an appetite or desire for which nothing is ever enough.

Full entry

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