Compressibility

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The property of a material that describes its capacity to reduce volume when force is applied
2. An indication of how much a substance can contract in size under compression due to external influences
3. The ability of a substance to decrease in volume under applied pressure or external forces is known in physical terms

Etymology: "Compressibility" is a plain, technical formation: the verb "compress" with the suffix "-ibility" attached. "Compress" comes from Latin "compressus", the past participle of "comprimere", meaning "to press together", built from "com-" ("together") and "premere" ("to press"). English took the verb from that Latin root, and the suffix "-ibility" marks a capacity, so the noun names the capacity to be pressed together. The suffix is the more interesting part. "-ibility" is a combination of "-ible" (able to be done) and "-ity" (a state or quality), so the word literally means the quality of being able to be compressed. Many English nouns ending in "-ibility" were formed this way, often in scientific and technical writing where a precise name for a measurable property was needed.

Synonyms: compressive capacity, squeezability

Antonyms: incompressibility