# potable

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈpəʊtəbəl/ · frequency rank #35,887

## Definitions
1. Good for drinking without fear of waterborne disease or poisoning.

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **pothole** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/potable-vs-pothole)
- **probable** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/potable-vs-probable)
- **payable** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/payable-vs-potable)
- **parable** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/parable-vs-potable)
- **pliable** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pliable-vs-potable)
- **portable** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/portable-vs-potable)

## Common misspellings (11)
`optable`, `poatble`, `potabble`, `potabel`, `potablle`, `potalbe`, `potbale`, `potible`, `pottable`, `ppotable`, `ptoable`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/potable