Fusable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Capable of being melted or liquefied when subject to heat
2. being able to combine or merge two or more substances into a uniform whole
3. suitable for processes where materials are integrated through temperature changes

Etymology: "Fusable" is formed from the verb "fuse" plus the suffix "-able," meaning "capable of being." The verb "fuse" comes from Latin "fusus," the past participle of "fundere," "to pour" or "to melt." Its earliest English sense was literal: to melt metal or other materials by heat so they run together. From that physical idea of molten substances pouring into one mass, the meaning broadened to any blending or joining of separate things into a single whole. The suffix "-able," inherited through Old French from Latin "-abilis," is one of the most productive endings in English, attaching to verbs to mean that something can be done to something. Adding it to "fuse" gives the adjective its sense: a material or substance that can be melted and joined with another. Because the base verb carried the metallurgical image of heat and liquid, that same image sits underneath "fusable," even when the word is applied to chemicals or ideas.

Synonyms: meltable, ductile

Antonyms: solid, rigid