'anticipable' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'anticipare', and in modern formation it comes from adding the English suffix '-able' (from Latin '-abilis' via Old French) to 'anticipate'. In the Latin root 'ante-' meant 'before' and the element related to 'capere' meant 'to take'.

'anticipable' developed from Latin 'anticipare' → Old French 'anticiper' → Middle English 'anticipaten/anticipate'. The adjective form was created in Modern English by combining 'anticipate' with the suffix '-able'.

Initially, the Latin verb 'anticipare' meant 'to take or act beforehand'; over time the sense shifted toward 'to foresee or expect', and the modern adjective 'anticipable' now means 'capable of being anticipated'.