'graspable' originates from English, specifically formed from the verb 'grasp' (from Middle English 'graspen') combined with the suffix '-able' (from Old French '-able', ultimately from Latin '-abilis'), where 'grasp' meant 'to seize' and '-able' meant 'capable of'.

'grasp' changed from Old Norse 'grapa' (to seize) into Middle English 'graspen' and later modern English 'grasp'; the adjective-forming suffix '-able' entered English via Old French and Latin, and combining them produced 'graspable' in Modern English.

Initially associated mainly with physical seizing ('capable of being seized'), the sense broadened to include mental or abstract seizure ('capable of being understood').