Nontransmittable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Unable to be transferred or communicated to others in any form
2. Incapable of being conveyed from one source to another in any manner
3. Not capable of being sent, spread, or communicated to another person or thing

Etymology: "Nontransmittable" is a plain formation: the prefix "non-," meaning "not," attached to "transmittable," itself built from the verb "transmit" and the suffix "-able," meaning "capable of being." Put together, the word describes something that cannot be passed from one person, place, or thing to another. The root verb "transmit" comes from Latin "transmittere," meaning "to send across," combining "trans-" ("across") with "mittere" ("to send"). English adopted "transmit" and its family in the sense of sending something from one place to another, and "transmittable" follows that pattern, meaning capable of being sent or passed on. The prefix "non-" is a productive English tool that has long been attached to adjectives to negate them, so the result is a logical, transparent coinage rather than a word with a dramatic backstory.

Synonyms: noncommunicable, intransmissible

Antonyms: transmissible, contagious