Rentable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Capable of generating income through leasing or hiring out property or assets for temporary use; economically viable to be rented out rather than sold; suitable for producing rental revenue
2. Able to be leased to tenants for payment; financially practical to maintain as a rental investment; possessing qualities that make it appealing for short-term occupancy or use
3. Offering potential for earnings by allowing use or occupancy for a fee; financially beneficial to own and rent out; fit or advantageous to be let to others in exchange for compensation

Etymology: "Rentable" is a plain formation: the English noun-turned-verb "rent" with the suffix "-able," meaning "able to be" or "fit for" the action named by the base. So a rentable car is one that can be hired out, and a rentable room is one a landlord can let. The suffix has a longer pedigree than the word it sits on. "-able" descends from Latin "-abilis," which came into Old French as "-able" and then entered Middle English, where it was attached to native words as freely as to Latin ones. That mixed ancestry is why English has both inherited-looking forms and Latin-looking ones with the same ending. "Rent" itself has a different history. It came into Middle English from Old French "rente," meaning income or payment, and it ultimately traces back to Latin "reddere," to give back. The sense of paying for use of property was present from the start, which is why "rentable" stays close to its root meaning rather than drifting far from it.

Synonyms: profitable, lucrative, gainful, economical, cost-effective

Antonyms: unprofitable, loss-making, nonprofitable, uneconomical