Suable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Subject to being legally prosecuted or taken to court for claims Relevant to the potential for an individual or entity to be involved in legal action Indicative of eligibility for facing lawsuits in a judicial setting
2. Able to be brought to court for legal claims or accusations
3. Describes someone or something that can face a lawsuit in legal proceedings

Etymology: "Suable" is a plain formation: the verb "sue," meaning to bring a legal action against someone, with the suffix "-able" attached. The suffix comes from Latin "-abilis" through Old French, and in English it works as it does in words like "readable" or "washable," meaning capable of being acted upon in the stated way. So a suable party is one against whom a lawsuit can be brought. The verb "sue" entered English through Anglo-Norman and Old French "suer," itself from Latin "sequi," meaning to follow. The legal sense grew out of pursuing a claim or following a matter through the courts, so the adjective inherits that idea of pursuit. The spelling "sueable" with the medial e is the older-looking variant, while "suable" drops it, and both are accepted forms of the same word.

Synonyms: litigable, prosecutable

Antonyms: immune, exempt