Releasable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Able to be freed from any constraints or limitations
2. Capable of being freed or allowed to go without restriction
3. Fit for liberation or removal from control or confinement

Etymology: "Releasable" is a straightforward formation: English "release" with the suffix "-able," meaning "capable of being." The verb "release" came into English from Old French "relaissier" (later "relaisser"), which itself grew from Latin "relaxare," "to loosen again." That Latin verb was built from "re-" (back, again) and "laxare," "to loosen," from "laxus," meaning slack or loose. So the core idea sits in the word's ancestry: something that was tied or held tight is loosened and let go. The suffix "-able" traces back through Old French "-able" to Latin "-abilis," which attached to verbs to mean "able to be done." English adopted this suffix freely, so it can be joined to a great many verbs. "Releasable" therefore describes something that can be let go, freed, or handed over, and it is a fairly recent, practical formation of the kind that English produces whenever a new need arises.

Synonyms: dischargeable, liberable, exemptible, unconfined, unrestricted

Antonyms: detained, confined, restricted, bound, held