Salvageables

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Items or materials that can be recovered and reused after a disaster or damage
2. Components that are repairable or reusable, providing value despite prior loss or degradation
3. Assets still possessing utility or worth, capable of being restored or salvaged from waste or destruction

Etymology: "Salvageables" is the plural of "salvageable," an adjective meaning fit to be saved, which was formed by adding the suffix "-able" to "salvage." Because "salvageable" is an adjective, its plural as a noun is simply the adjective pluralized, which is why the word refers to things worth saving rather than to any particular process of rescue. The base word "salvage" came into English from Old French "salvage," meaning the act of saving or the reward paid for saving goods, and it ultimately traces to Latin "salvus," meaning safe or whole. Over time the word shifted from the rescue itself to the goods rescued, and the payment owed to those who rescued them.

Synonyms: recoverables, retrievables, rescues

Antonyms: irrecoverables, lost, destroyed