Chewable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Able to be chewed easily without difficulty or causing harm
2. Capable of being masticated comfortably or conveniently
3. Fit to be bitten and ground by the teeth during eating

Etymology: "Chewable" is about as plain as English compounds get: the verb "chew" with the suffix "-able" attached, meaning "able to be chewed." The suffix did the heavy lifting. It descends from Latin "-abilis," which turned verbs into adjectives meaning "capable of being" the action, and it reached English partly through Old French "-able," so many English words ending in "-able" passed through French first. "Chew" itself is an inherited Germanic word, with ancestry reaching back to the same ancient root that gave rise to many words for grinding and gnawing. The suffix is the part that travelled, and English has used it freely for centuries, attaching it to native verbs like "chew" as readily as to borrowed ones like "credible."

Synonyms: edible, masticable

Antonyms: inedible