Allegeable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Able to be stated or claimed without proof, often said in a legal or formal context
2. Describes something that can be asserted or put forward as a fact though not yet verified
3. Refers to a statement or accusation that can be made but remains to be proven true

Etymology: "Allegeable" is simply "allege" with the suffix "-able" attached, and the suffix is where the real history lies. "-able" came into English through Old French from Latin "-abilis," which meant "able to be" or "capable of being" and was built from the verb ending "-are" plus "-bilis." That Latin "-bilis" traces back through Proto-Italic roots to a much older Proto-Indo-European element, but the working piece for English speakers is that "-able" arrived as a ready-made tool for turning verbs into adjectives of possibility. The verb "allege" is the older part of the chain. It came into English from Old French "alleguer," which drew on Latin "allegare," meaning "to send as a deputy" or "to adduce," from "ad-" ("to") and "legare" ("to send on a mission"). The sense of putting forward a claim, which is the basis of "allegeable," grew naturally from that idea of presenting something for consideration. The adjective therefore describes anything that can be asserted or put forward as a claim, a sense that matters most in legal and formal settings where an assertion is made before any evidence is offered.