'atonable' originates from English, formed from the verb 'atone' + the adjectival suffix '-able', where 'atone' derived from the phrase 'at one' (meaning 'to be in agreement or reconciled') and '-able' meant 'capable of'.

'atonable' developed from the verb 'atone' (Middle English phrase 'at oon' -> 'at one'), with the addition of the productive suffix '-able' in Modern English to create the adjective form 'atonable'.

Initially, 'atone' carried the sense 'to be at one (reconciled)'; 'atonable' therefore originally meant 'capable of being reconciled or made at one', and over time this has come to the current sense 'able to be atoned for' or 'capable of being remedied by atonement'.