eligible

English Online Dictionary. What means eligible‎? What does eligible mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle French eligible, from Latin eligibilis, from ēligō (“select, choose”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɛl.ɪ.d͡ʒə.bəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɛl.ə.d͡ʒə.bəl/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈel.ə.d͡ʒə.bəl/

Adjective

eligible (comparative more eligible, superlative most eligible)

1. Allowed to and meeting the necessary conditions required to participate in or be chosen for something
2. Worthy of being chosen (for marriage).

Usage notes

Used in the phrase eligible bachelor to mean “desirable male”, the corresponding term for a woman is nubile.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• illegible

Noun

eligible (plural eligibles)

1. One who is eligible.

Translations

Middle French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin eligibilis.

Adjective

eligible m or f (plural eligibles)

1. choosable; selectable (that one can choose)

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (eligible, supplement)