α. 1600s– amovable.
β. 1800s amovible.
amovableadj.
/əˈmuːvəbl/, U.S. /əˈmuvəb(ə)l/ Now rare.
Of a person: subject to removal or dismissal from an office or position; removable.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > removal from office or authority > [adjective] > able to be
dative1461
removable1526
remotivec1550
deposable1643
amovable1667
dismissible1824
1667 T. Sprat tr. Second Charter in Hist. Royal-Soc. ii. 139 In case that any one or more of the Council aforesaid.., for misdemeanour, or other reasonable cause, are declar'd to be amovable by the President and the rest of the Council.
1718 J. Ozell tr. J. Pitton de Tournefort Voy. Levant I. viii. 275 In the Latin Churches, none but simple Chaplains are amovable [Fr. amovibles] at the pleasure of the Bishop.
1793 B. Edwards Hist. Brit. Colonies W. Indies II. vi. i. 336 They [sc. members of the council] should be amovable only by the king's express order.
1851 F. Palgrave Hist. Normandy & Eng. I. 154 A civil Hierarchy of Dukes or Counts, amovible perhaps by prerogative.
1941 Econ. Hist. Rev. 11 110 Considering the large number of non-resident rectors, whose duties were performed by amovable curates, one is led to suppose that those parishes were better off which had perpetual vicars.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2019; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1667