rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryRoot: -ibilis
Latin

-ibilis

able or suitable to be

Forms

  • -ibilis
  • -ible — The ending shortened through French and English.

Origin

A Latin form of -bilis, often attached to a verb through a linking i.

Note

It expresses possibility or suitability, not a promise that the action will happen.

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An overpowering gust defeats a woman's visible effort to stand firm: she leans into the wind with bent knees, but her shoes skid backward and her umbrella turns inside out.
adjective

irresistible

ir-ih-ZIS-tuh-buhl/ˌɪrɪˈzɪstəbl/

Too appealing or powerful to resist.

Etymology
irLatinnot; without
+reLatinback, again; restoration or reversal
+sistLatinmake stand; take a stand
+ibleLatinable or suitable to be

Standing firm against something is the original image behind resistance. Irresistible describes what cannot be withstood, whether an overpowering force or an attraction too tempting to refuse.

Full entry

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