Formable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Able to be shaped or molded into a desired form
2. Capable of assuming a particular shape or structure
3. Susceptible to being formed or shaped according to requirements

Etymology: "Formable" is a plain combination of "form" and the suffix "-able," which turns a verb into an adjective meaning "capable of being" the action named. Put together, it describes something that can be shaped or given structure. The suffix comes from Latin "-abilis," and English has attached it freely to native and borrowed verbs for centuries, so "formable" follows a pattern rather than marking a single moment of coinage. The interesting part is the verb it grows from. "Form" entered English through Old French "forme" from Latin "forma," meaning shape, outline or mould, so the core idea of the word has always been an external contour. A thing that is "formable" is therefore one whose material will take on such a contour when pressed, moulded or worked, which is why the word is most at home in talk of clay, metal, plastic or other pliable substances.