Palatable means pleasant enough to eat, or acceptable enough to agree to. Barely palatable, make it more palatable, a palatable compromise.
It sets a low bar in both senses — palatable food is edible rather than good, and a palatable proposal is one people can be brought to accept. The figurative use is now the commoner one. Note palate, the roof of the mouth.
1adjectivepalatablePleasant enough to eat.
“The hospital food was barely palatable, so my family brought me sandwiches.”
2adjectiveacceptableAcceptable enough to agree to.
“The union found the new offer more palatable and agreed to end the strike.”
palatable is a quality of acceptability.
Middle English
palate
English
palate
English, today
palatable
From palate + -able. palate comes from Middle English palate. From Middle English palate, from Latin palātum (“roof of the mouth, palate”), perhaps of Etruscan origin.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA