Detectible

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Possible to identify or discern through careful inspection or study
2. Able to be recognized or uncovered when subjected to observation or evaluation
3. Capable of being noticed or discovered through observation or examination

Etymology: "Detectible" is a straightforward formation: the verb "detect" (from Latin "detectus," meaning "uncovered" or "unveiled," from "detegere," "to uncover," built from "de-," "away," and "tegere," "to cover") plus the suffix "-ible," meaning "able to be." The suffix travelled a long road to reach English. It began in Latin as "-bilis" and "-ibilis," passed through Old French as "-ible," and entered Middle English in that form before English speakers attached it to all sorts of verbs. The word itself is a plain English coinage on that existing stem, so its meaning follows the suffix directly: something that can be found out by inspection or study. The most common spelling today is "detectable," with the "-able" ending, and "detectible" is the less frequent variant that keeps the older "-ible" form of the suffix.

Synonyms: perceptible, noticeable, visible, discernible, observable

Antonyms: invisible, imperceptible, undetectable, hidden, unnoticeable