Origin and history of conformable

mid-14c., confourmen, "be obedient (to God), comply," from Old French conformer "conform (to), agree (to), make or be similar, be agreeable" (13c.) and directly from Latin conformare "to fashion, to form, to shape; educate; modify," from assimilated form of com "together" (see con-) + formare "to form" (see form (v.)).

The meaning "to make of the same form or character; bring into harmony, make agreeable," and the intransitive sense of "act in accordance with an example" are attested from late 14c.

The sense of "comply with the usages of the Church of England" is from 1610s; hence conformist (1630s) in the religious sense, opposed to non-conformist or dissenter. Related: Conformed; conforming; conformance.

"not consistent, not agreeable or correspondent" (to something), 1590s, from un- (1) "not" + conformable (adj.). Especially "not conforming to usages of the Church of England" (1610s). Related: Unconformably; unconformability.

common termination and word-forming element of English adjectives (typically based on transitive verbs) with the sense "capable; liable; allowed; worthy; requiring; or bound to be ______ed," sometimes "full of, causing," from French -able and directly from Latin -abilis.

It is properly -ble, from Latin -bilis (the vowel being generally from the stem ending of the verb being suffixed), and it represents PIE *-tro-, a suffix used to form nouns of instrument, cognate with the second syllables of English rudder and saddle (n.).

A living element in English, used in new formations from either Latin or native words (readable, bearable) and also with nouns (objectionable, peaceable). Sometimes with an active signification (suitable, capable), sometimes of neutral signification (durable, conformable). By 20c. it had become very elastic in meaning, as in a reliable witness, a playable foul ball, perishable goods. A 17c. writer has cadaverable "mortal."

To take a single example in detail, no-one but a competent philologist can tell whether reasonable comes from the verb or the noun reason, nor whether its original sense was that can be reasoned out, or that can reason, or that can be reasoned with, or that has reason, or that listens to reason, or that is consistent with reason; the ordinary man knows only that it can now mean any of these, & justifiably bases on these & similar facts a generous view of the termination's capabilities; credible meaning for him worthy of credence, why should not reliable & dependable mean worthy of reliance & dependence? [Fowler]

In Latin, -abilis and -ibilis depended on the inflectional vowel of the verb. Hence the variant form -ible in Old French, Spanish, English. In English, -able tends to be used with native (and other non-Latin) words, -ible with words of obvious Latin origin (but there are exceptions). The Latin suffix is not etymologically connected with able, but it long has been popularly associated with it, and this probably has contributed to its vigor as a living suffix.