equable

UK/ˈɛk.wə.bəl/US/ˈɛk.wə.bəl/

adjectiveC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechToo rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Equable means even-tempered, or steady and mild in climate. An equable temperament.

It is the same root as equal and is not the same word as equitable, which means fair. An equable climate is one where the difference between summer and winter is small.

Definitions of equable

1adjectiveequableEven-tempered, or steady and mild in climate.C2
“He remained equable through the entire inquiry.”

equable is a quality.

Where it comes from

Latin aequabilis, from aequus, level or even, the root of equal and equity.

Latin
aequābilis
English, today
equable

Built from

aequō · Latin — make level
aequus · Latin — even, level

Latin aequābilis, from aequō (“make level”), from aequus (“even, level”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

equable in the wild

DanceAfrica is a heritage and community celebration equable on the manifold dance forms of the African Diaspora held annually in New York City, Washington, DC, and Chicago.
DanceAfrica
A two-dimensional equable shape (or perfect shape) is one whose area is numerically equal to its perimeter.
Equable shape
The Times' obituary called him "the most amiable and equable of High Commissioners", attributes which won him admiration from those seeking cordial relations between London and Jamaica.
Henry Laurence Lindo

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the aequus family

equinox equanimity

equable — used too rare to measure · point at the bar for the others

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