Knowledgeable

How to spell knowledgeable

13 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce knowledgeable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does knowledgeable mean?

1. adjectiveHaving or showing extensive knowledge or understanding of a subject.

Knowledgeable in a sentence

• The sales assistant was remarkably knowledgeable about every camera in the shop.

• Clients trust her because she is so knowledgeable about tax law.

Where does knowledgeable come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is built on 'knowledge', which itself goes back to the Old English verb cnawan, meaning 'to recognise or understand', the same root that gives us the modern 'know' with its now-silent k. In Middle English the verb gained the ending -lecche or -ledge, producing the noun 'knowledge' to describe the state of knowing. The adjective 'knowledgeable' was then formed by adding the French-derived suffix -able, meaning 'capable of' or 'full of', a pattern English borrowed countless times from Latin through French. The word emerged around the 1600s, at first carrying the slightly different sense of 'able to be known' before settling on its modern meaning of 'well informed'. The spelling trap survives from that long history: the silent k inherited from Old English, and the kept e of 'knowledge' that stays put before -able rather than dropping out as it does in words like 'movable'.

How the word is built

• know (to perceive/understand)
• -ledge (noun-forming element, as in knowledge)
• -able (capable of, characterised by)