Nameable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Capable of being given a name or designation; able to be identified or called by a particular title or label
2. Capable of being labeled or given a specific title
3. Having the quality that allows something to be recognized and called by a name

Etymology: "Nameable" is a plain compound of "name" and "-able," so its story is really the story of its two parts. "Name" descends from Proto-Germanic "namô," which reaches back to a very old Indo-European root meaning "name," and it has been in English since Old English as "nama." The suffix "-able" arrived through a long chain: a Proto-Italic ending, then Latin "-bilis" and "-ābilis," which meant "capable of being" or "fit for" the action of a verb, then Old French "-able," and finally Middle English "-able." Put together, "nameable" follows the pattern of many English adjectives such as "readable" or "washable," meaning something that can be given a particular quality or action. Here the action is naming, so the word means that something can be assigned a name or label. The suffix itself came into English through French, which is why so many "-able" words are borrowed forms, while "name" is a native English word that has been in the language since its earliest recorded stage.

Synonyms: identifiable, designatable

Antonyms: nameless, unknown