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eligible

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Archived revision by TimothyL52 (talk | contribs) as of 19:59, 16 September 2022.
See also: éligible

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɛlɪd͡ʒəb(ə)l/
  • Audio (UK):(file)

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

See also

Translations

Noun

eligible (plural eligibles)

  1. One who is eligible.
    • 2007 October 3, Diane Ravitch, “Get Congress Out of the Classroom”, in New York Times[1]:
      Federal agencies report that only about 1 percent of eligible students take advantage of switching schools and fewer than 20 percent of eligibles receive extra tutoring.

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 IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (eligible, supplement)