• frangible •
Printable Version Pronunciation: fræn-jê-bêl • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Capable of being broken, breakable.
Notes: Unlike the related adjective, fragile, frangible does not bear the implication of being easily broken. It also has no connotation of being brittle. It is the antonym of unbreakable (infrangible). The adverb is frangibly and the noun, referring to the state of being breakable, is frangibility.
In Play: The important aspect of today's Good Word is that it refers to the breakability of objects that are not fragile: "I'm sorry we broke the coat tree but you shouldn't put anything that frangible so near the refrigerator door." This word is almost always used in its literal sense but there is no reason why we cannot extend that sense metaphorically: "Many critics find US immigration laws too frangible."
Word History: The Proto-Indo-European language had a sound [bh] very similar to English [b] but with the puff of air that comes with the letter [p] (say "puh" with your hand in front of your mouth). At the beginning of words, it became [f] in Latin. This is how the borrowed word furnace, which originated in Latin, developed directly into English burn. So, the original PIE root bhreg- "break" emerged in Latin as frango "I break", fractus "broken" but in English the same root turned into break. Oh, you noticed that! Yes, fracture is a borrowing from French that originated in the Latin past participle fractus. (Chris Berry gave us all a big break by sharing this very interesting and useful word with us. Thanks, Chris.)
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