Transmissivus

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Capable of allowing the passage or transfer of something, such as light, energy, or signals ; relating to the process or ability of transmitting
2. Characterized by permitting the movement or conveyance of substances, forces, or information ; pertaining to transmission or transferable qualities
3. Describing something that enables or is associated with the transfer or passage of entities like waves or fluids ; connected to the faculty or act of transmitting

Etymology: "Mittere" was the Latin verb for "to send," and it lies behind a surprising amount of English vocabulary. A mission is something sent, a missile is something thrown or sent through the air, and to emit is literally to send out. "Transmissivus" combines "trans-" ("across") with "missus," the past participle of "mittere," giving "sent across." The suffix "-ivus" marks a quality or tendency, so the Latin adjective described something inclined to let things be sent through it. English "transmissive" follows the same pattern, and its "-ive" ending reached English through Old French from that Latin suffix. The sense of allowing passage, as with light or heat moving through a material, grows directly from that original image of sending something across.

Synonyms: transmissive, transmissible, conductive

Antonyms: nontransmissive, impermeable, nonconductive