'catchable' originates from English, specifically formed from the verb 'catch' + the adjectival suffix '-able', where 'catch' comes from Middle English 'cachen' (meaning 'to seize') and '-able' comes from Old French/Latin meaning 'able to be'.

'catch' changed from the Middle English word 'cachen' (itself from Old North French 'cachier' or similar), and the suffix '-able' came from Old French '-able' (from Latin '-abilis'); these elements combined in English to form the modern adjective 'catchable'.

Initially, the root 'catch' meant 'to seize or capture'; over time the derived form 'catchable' came to mean 'able to be caught' (including both literal and occasional figurative senses).