'bribable' originates from English, specifically the word 'bribe' combined with the suffix '-able' (from Old French/Latin), where 'bribe' originally meant 'a small piece; scrap' and the suffix '-able' meant 'able to be'.

'bribable' changed from the Middle English use of 'bribe' (from Old French 'bribe') plus the adjective-forming suffix '-able' and eventually became the modern English adjective 'bribable'.

Initially, 'bribe' meant 'a small piece' and later shifted to mean 'a payment to influence'; over time the derived adjective came to mean 'able to be influenced by a bribe' (i.e., susceptible to bribery).