Enabled

How to spell enabled

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce enabled

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does enabled mean?

1. verbMade someone or something able to do something; provided the means or opportunity.
2. adjectiveSwitched on or made operational, especially a feature or setting on a device.

Enabled in a sentence

• verb

  The grant enabled the charity to open two new shelters.

• adjective

  With location services enabled, the app can suggest nearby restaurants.

• verb

  Flexible hours enabled her to study while working full time.

• adjective

  The two-factor login is now enabled on every staff account.

Where does enabled come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the past form of the verb 'enable', which English built in the late 1400s by attaching the prefix 'en-', meaning 'to make' or 'to cause to be', to the adjective 'able'. That adjective came through Old French from the Latin 'habilis', which literally meant 'easy to handle' or 'fit for purpose', and which in turn grew from the verb 'habere', meaning 'to hold' or 'to have'. The logic of the formation is pleasingly direct: to 'enable' someone is to make them able, that is, to put them in a position to hold or handle a task. The same Latin 'habere' lies behind a surprising family of English words, including 'habit', 'inhabit', and 'exhibit'. Because the word is simply 'en' plus 'able' plus 'ed', its spelling is regular once you remember that there is no doubled letter and that 'able' keeps its full spelling before the ending.

How the word is built

• en- (to make or put into a state)
• able (capable, fit)
• -ed (past tense/participle suffix)