Marriageable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a person regarded as proper for formal wedlock
2. Indicative of an individual viewed as fit for marital commitment
3. Qualified or appropriate to enter into matrimony

Etymology: "Marriageable" is a straightforward compound: the noun "marriage" with the suffix "-able" attached. The suffix comes down through a long chain of borrowings. It began as a Proto-Indo-European element and passed through Proto-Italic and Latin forms ("-bilis" and "-ābilis"), where it meant "capable of being" or "fit for" the action in question. Old French then carried it into the language as "-able," and Middle English adopted it in that form. The suffix did most of its work in English by attaching to existing verbs and nouns, so "marriageable" joined a large family of words built the same way, such as "readable" and "washable." Because the suffix is so productive, the adjective needed no separate coining: speakers simply combined "marriage" with "-able" to describe a person considered fit for wedlock.

Synonyms: eligible, suitable

Antonyms: unfit, ineligible