Operational

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ɔpɜˈɹeɪʃənəl/

Definitions

1. Functioning and ready for use in practical activities or tasks
2. Involving the aspects of functioning, ready to be utilized, and pertaining to the execution of specific activities or tasks
3. Relating to the state of being functional, prepared for implementation, and associated with the running of particular operations or tasks

Etymology: "Operational" is about as plain as English etymology gets: it is simply "operation" with the adjective-forming suffix "-al" attached. The suffix comes from Latin "-alis", which English took through Old French "-el" and "-al" forms, so the adjective describes anything that relates to or belongs to an operation. The noun underneath it, "operation", traces back to Latin "operari", meaning "to work", and the root "opus", meaning "work". That Latin root is the source of many English words built on the idea of labour or effort, including "opus" itself and "opera" in its original sense of works or labours. "Operation" passed into Middle English through Old French "operacion", so the family of words shares a single idea: doing work. The sense "ready for use", which is the one given here, grew out of the adjective's older meaning of relating to operations. A thing that is operational is one that can be made to function, which is a practical extension of the idea of a working mechanism.

Synonyms: functional, operating

Antonyms: nonfunctional, inoperative