Inhalable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Suitable for being taken in by the lungs while breathing Made to enter the respiratory system as a gas or aerosol Capable of being absorbed by the air passages during inhalation
2. Capable of entering the lungs when breathed in through the nose or mouth
3. Able to be drawn into the respiratory tract during normal breathing

Etymology: "Inhalable" is simply "inhale" with the suffix "-able" attached, meaning "able to be inhaled." The base verb "inhale" comes from Latin "inhalare," formed from "in-" ("into") and "halare" ("to breathe"), and it entered English as a learned borrowing from that Latin source. The ending "-able" has a longer lineage. It descends from Latin "-bilis," which was extended to "-abilis" on verbs of the first conjugation, and it passed into English through Old French "-able," which was then borrowed into Middle English. Over the centuries English speakers attached it freely to verbs, so that today it is one of the most productive suffixes for forming adjectives of capability.

Synonyms: breathable, inspirable

Antonyms: non-inhalable, toxic