Abradable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Able to be worn down or eroded by rubbing, scraping, or friction against another surface
2. Capable of being gradually worn away through abrasive contact or mechanical action
3. Subject to wearing away or being ground down by friction or abrasive materials

Etymology: "Abradable" is a plain English formation: the adjective "abrade" with the suffix "-able," meaning "able to be abraded." The verb "abrade" comes from Latin "abradere," "to scrape off," built from "ab-" ("away") and "radere" ("to scrape"). The suffix traces back through Old French and Middle English, where "-able" came to attach freely to verbs to mean "capable of being" whatever the verb describes. In practice, the term is used in engineering, especially for coatings and seals designed to wear away gently when two parts rub together. A surface that is abradable is meant to be sacrificed: it scrapes away under contact so that the moving part can run close without grinding the component itself. The word thus takes a verb meaning "to scrape off" and describes a material built to be scraped off on purpose.

Synonyms: erodible