Firmable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Capable of being made solid or stable; able to be confirmed or strengthened; fit to be secured firmly in position
2. Susceptible to becoming more resolute or stable; ready to be validated or reinforced; apt to be fixed or fastened securely
3. Having the potential to become steadfast or unyielding; able to be established or supported with certainty; suitable for firm attachment or confirmation

Etymology: "Firmable" is formed from the verb "firm" plus the suffix "-able," meaning "able to be firmed" or, as the meaning here puts it, able to fasten. "Firm" itself comes from Latin "firmus," meaning strong, stable or steadfast, and reached English through Old French "ferme" in the Middle Ages, where it originally described something solid and unmoving before it came to be used as a verb for making something secure. The suffix "-able," borrowed from Latin "-abilis" through French, is productive enough that English speakers have long attached it to verbs to create adjectives describing capacity. Dictionaries record "firmable" mainly in a narrow, technical sense, so the word is rare and largely confined to specialist or older writing.

Synonyms: solidifiable, strengthenable