Salvageable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Fit to be saved or recovered from catastrophic events
2. Able to be rescued or recovered despite damage or difficulty
3. Suitable for recovery or repair following damage or loss

Etymology: Salvageable is a plain formation: the noun "salvage" with the suffix "-able" attached. "Salvage" came into English from Old French "salvage," meaning the saving of goods from loss, and that French word grew from Latin "salvus," meaning safe or whole. The suffix has a longer ancestry of its own. It descends from Latin "-abilis," which meant "able to be" or "capable of," and it reached English by way of Old French "-able," so the ending that makes "salvageable" mean "capable of being saved" is the same one found in words like "readable" and "breakable." Put together, the word simply describes whether something can still be rescued from loss, damage or ruin. Its history is a straightforward combination of two parts, each with its own route into English.

Synonyms: recoverable, retrievable, rescuable, fixable, restorable

Antonyms: unsalvageable, irreparable, lost, destroyed, damaged