Retrievable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Able to be restored to a usable state after being archived or lost
2. Possible to access or obtain information that has been removed or stored away
3. Capable of being found and brought back to use or knowledge

Etymology: "Retrievable" is a straightforward formation: the verb "retrieve" with the suffix "-able" added to it. "Retrieve" itself came into English from Old French "retrouver," meaning to find again, and the English suffix "-able" traces back through Old French "-able" and Latin "-abilis" (from "-ābilis"), a suffix meaning "capable of being" or "fit for." English borrowed the suffix heavily from French, so it can attach to many verbs to say that something can be done to them. The suffix has a long history in English. Middle English already used "-able" for words like "comfortable" and "available," and the pattern became productive enough that writers could build new adjectives from almost any verb. "Retrievable" follows this path: it describes something that can be recovered, whether a lost file, a stored memory, or a sunken object.

Synonyms: recoverable, accessible

Antonyms: irretrievable, unrecoverable