Variable

How to spell variable

8 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce variable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does variable mean?

1. adjectiveLiable to change or vary; not constant or fixed.
2. nounA quantity or factor that can take different values, as in mathematics, programming, or research.

Variable in a sentence

• adjective

  The weather this week has been highly variable and hard to predict.

• noun

  The program stores each user's age in a separate variable.

• adjective

  The loan carries a variable interest rate that rises with the market.

• noun

  Cost is the main variable the analysts adjusted in their forecast.

Where does variable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin variabilis, meaning 'changeable', which was built on the verb variare, 'to change, to make different', and ultimately on the adjective varius, meaning 'diverse, many-coloured, or spotted'. The sense in Latin always centred on diversity and inconstancy, the idea of something that does not stay the same. English took the word in during the late 1300s by way of Old French, first as an adjective describing things that are apt to change. The same varius root sits behind a whole family of common English words, including 'vary', 'various', and 'variety', which is a useful memory hook: the word keeps the 'vari-' stem of 'vary' and simply adds the familiar '-able' ending. Remembering that connection helps with the spelling trap, since the troublesome middle is just 'vary' losing its 'y' before the suffix.

How the word is built

• vari- (from Latin variare: to change)
• -able (capable of being)