Knowable

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: [ˈnəʊəbɫ̩]

Definitions

1. Capable of being understood, discovered, or comprehended through observation, study, or experience
2. Something can be discerned, understood, or learned through inquiry, experience, or investigation
3. It refers to a concept that can be made known or made apprehensible through various methods of exploration or analysis

Etymology: "Knowable" is a plain build from two parts: the verb "know" and the suffix "-able", which marks something that can be done or undergone. The verb descends from Old English "cnāwan", which was used for recognising and perceiving as much as for holding information, a breadth of meaning that the modern word still carries in its sense of something that can be discerned by experience or observation. The suffix has a longer pedigree. It passed from Latin "-ābilis" through Old French "-able" into Middle English, where it attached to native verbs such as "know" and gave rise to "knowable". The Latin ending itself grew from "-bilis" added to verb stems, which is why many English words with this ending come to us by way of French. "Knowable" is therefore a native verb wearing a French-inherited suffix, a combination typical of Middle English word-building.

Synonyms: comprehensible, understandable

Antonyms: incomprehensible, unknowable