1823年，「能夠生存的，可能活著的」，來自法語viable「能夠生活」（1530年代），源自vie「生命」（來自拉丁語vita「生命」，來自原始印歐語根*gwei-「生活」）+-able。最初用於新生嬰兒；1848年記錄了「能夠持續存在」的普遍意義。相關詞：Viably。
With Dr. Beck we have adopted this word from the French, as we no word as expressive in our language, Dr. Smith's term rearable not being sufficiently definite. [R.E. Griffith, "Remarks on Infanticide," Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences, May and August 1827]
與貝克博士一起，我們從法語採用了這個詞，因為我們的語言中沒有任何表達如此準確的詞彙，史密斯博士的術語rearable不夠明確。[R.E. Griffith, "Remarks on Infanticide," Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences, May and August 1827]
Not much to their credit, English doctors and lawyers have tried to naturalize the French viable, 'likely to live', from vie, a corruption of vita. Who, at first sight, would not suppose that viable must be connected with via? Vivable would have been much better; or, if it were not dark enough, there is vitable, which does not lack the support of analogy. [Fitzedward Hall, "Modern English," 1873]
英國的醫生和律師們試圖將法語viable「可能活著的」自然化，來自vie，是vita的變體，這並不值得稱讚。誰能不在第一眼就認為viable必須與via有關呢？Vivable會更好；或者，如果這還不夠明確，還有vitable，這不缺乏類比的支持。[Fitzedward Hall, "Modern English," 1873]
