Swellable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Capable of increasing in size or volume typically by absorbing liquid or expanding under pressure
2. Able to undergo expansion or growth in physical dimensions when exposed to certain conditions or substances
3. Having the property to enlarge or become swollen due to moisture absorption or other environmental factors

Etymology: Swellable is about as plain as English word-building gets: the verb "swell" combined with the suffix "-able", which marks something capable of being acted on or undergoing a process. Here the process is expansion, so a swellable material is one that can grow in size, usually by absorbing liquid or gas. The base verb is Old English in origin, going back to "swellan", while "-able" came into English through Old French from the Latin "-abilis", a suffix that attached itself to verbs for centuries before it ever met "swell". The word is a modern formation built from familiar parts, so its real interest lies in the pieces rather than any single coining moment. Speakers of English combined "swell" with "-able" whenever they needed a way to describe materials, such as sponges or certain plastics, that enlarge when wet. Because the formation is transparent, a reader can work out its meaning from its parts without any special knowledge.

Synonyms: expandable, inflatable

Antonyms: unswellable, nonexpandable