Consumables

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Materials or products that are created for temporary use and must be replenished
2. Goods developed for consumption that are expected to be exhausted and subsequently replaced
3. Products designed to be used up and replaced as needed

Etymology: The plural form "consumables" is simply the plural of "consumable," so the story belongs to the base word. "Consumable" is a plain formation: the verb "consume" with the suffix "-able," meaning "capable of being" or "fit for." The suffix came into English through Old French from Latin "-abilis," a shape that turned up in countless English adjectives such as "readable" and "washable." The verb behind it has a more physical past. "Consume" descends from Latin "consumere," built from "com-" (an intensive, here meaning "altogether") and "sumere" ("to take up"). The Latin sense was close to "to use up entirely," and English later inherited that sense through Old French, which is why the word still carries the idea of something being taken completely away. Put together, "consumable" describes anything fit to be used up. Products sold on that basis, such as printer ink, filters, and batteries, are therefore named for their built-in expiry: they are made to be exhausted and then replaced.

Synonyms: supplies, goods, provisions, materials, resources

Antonyms: durables, nonconsumables