aneabil

English

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly from ane (a variant of one) +‎ -able, or an alteration of onlepy.[1] Alternatively, from the Latin inhabilis, used to refer to an unmarried man,[2] or Old French anable. Whether the word was used as an adjective or a noun is uncertain.

Adjective

aneabil

  1. (Scotland, obsolete, hapax legomenon) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
    1. Unmarried (having no spouse).[1]
      • 1609, John Skene, transl., Regiam majestatem: the auld lawes and constitutions of Scotland, 1st edition, volume 1:
        Procreat upon ane Concubine, or as we commonlie say, upon ane aneabil or singill woman, quhom he maries thereafter, as his lawfull wife.

Noun

aneabil

  1. (Scotland, obsolete, hapax legomenon) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
    1. A single woman or concubine.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “aneabil, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 John Jamieson, John Longmuir (1879) [1808] “aneabil”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, volume 1, page 45
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