workableadj.
/ˈwəːkəbl/, U.S. /ˈwərkəb(ə)l/ 1.
a. Of a substance or material: able to be worked, shaped, or manipulated; mouldable.
ΘΠ
the world > space > shape > [adjective] > able to be shaped
formable1495
workable1545
fashionable1607
plastic1791
society > occupation and work > materials > types of material generally > [adjective] > mouldable or workable
freec1300
malleablec1395
pliablec1475
workable1545
hammerable1611
mouldable1626
soluble1650
kind1747
plastic1791
temperable1841
mild1878
manipulable1881
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [adjective] > usable
usablea1382
workable1545
employable1588
prevailable1624
enjoyable1645
touchable1822
utilizable1881
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 22 As the potter most connyngly doth cast his pottes whan his claye is softe & workable.
1629 T. Jackson Treat. Divine Essence ii. 67 Workable or fashionable unto any set forme.
1796 J. Donaldson Mod. Agric. II. xiii. 236 Tanners bark..is esteemed best for strong cold land, which it tends to loosen and separate, so as to render it more free and workable.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator v. 299 Many heavy clays..might be made friable, and easily workable by a liberal application of lime.
1911 Jrnl. Soc. Chem. Industry 30 413/2 The author has now succeeded..in producing cellulose acetate solutions which readily gelatinise, and render it possible to produce workable plastic masses such as ‘Cellon’ and ‘Sicoid’.
2008 U. McGovern Lost Crafts (2009) 152 To make barley twists, wait until the syrup has cooled enough to be workable.
b. Of, relating to, or designating coal, ore, or another mineral which admits of extraction by mining or quarrying.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [adjective] > mined > capable of being
workable1672
mineable1893
strippable1975
1672 G. Sinclair Hydrostaticks 260 Of carrying on of Levels, for draining the water of Coal and making it workable.
1709 T. Robinson Ess. Nat. Hist. Westmorland & Cumberland ix. 55 It is but eight or nine Inches thick, but the Roof and Covers being strong, it is a workable Coal.
1797 W. Chapman Observ. Syst. Canal Navigation v. 53 Those, whose beds of coal lie nearly horizontal,..and have, at the same time, but one workable seam are under the worst predicaments.
1853 Pharm. Jrnl. & Trans. 13 118 Coal and fireclay, of workable value.
1887 P. McNeill Blawearie 90 The ‘ochre hole’..had been found too wet to be workable.
1900 Trans. Inst. Mining Engineers 18 332 If coal existed in a workable state the depth would constitute no bar to its being wrought.
1965 G. J. Williams Econ. Geol. N.Z. xviii. 302/2 Upper seams tend to be lenticular and rarely of workable thickness.
2010 Afr. Archaeol. Rev. 27 57 He found no workable ore there.
2.
a. Of (the condition of) a machine, device, etc.: that can be worked with, employed, or used, esp. satisfactorily; usable; functional. Hence also of an establishment, institution, system, etc.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > [adjective] > capable of being operated
operable1646
workable1756
operatable1895
the world > action or operation > easiness > [adjective] > feasible
openOE
possiblec1384
doablec1443
feasiblec1460
agible?a1475
performable1548
parable1563
practiceable1570
compassable1581
factible1585
effectuable1590
practicable1593
exploitable1611
achievable1634
effectible1646
operable1646
accomplishable1657
perpetrable1680
workable1756
executable1796
expeditable1820
workable1822
powerable1860
runnable1860
manageable1866
actable1876
viable1955
1756 in Naval Chron. (1799) 1 267 I stood off.., to put the ship in a workable state.
1775 W. Marshall Minutes Agric. 24 Aug. (1778) A plow workable in any soil.
1862 S. Smiles Lives Engineers III. 367 Often making a circuit to secure good, workable gradients.
1881 M. E. Braddon Asphodel II. ii. 30 There's not one of 'em knows how to plan a good workable hot-house.
1901 Daily News 28 Feb. 9/1 To realise how much had been done to make the hospital a really workable place.
1945 College Eng. 6 459/2 Basic English..is meant to be a simple, workable international language.
2012 M. Twyman in E. Piola Philadelphia on Stone ii. 75 Eventually a few workable machines were manufactured and put to commercial use.
b. Of a plan, system, solution, etc.: that can be put into practice; practicable, feasible.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > [adjective] > feasible
openOE
possiblec1384
doablec1443
feasiblec1460
agible?a1475
performable1548
parable1563
practiceable1570
compassable1581
factible1585
effectuable1590
practicable1593
exploitable1611
achievable1634
effectible1646
operable1646
accomplishable1657
perpetrable1680
workable1756
executable1796
expeditable1820
workable1822
powerable1860
runnable1860
manageable1866
actable1876
viable1955
1822 Edinb. Mag. & Literary Misc. Apr. 447/1 Amidst all the multiplicity of schemes which we have seen or thought of, there is none so plain, simple, and workable.
1880 Libr. Jrnl. 5 218/1 Some satisfactory and workable plan of operation.
1915 T. H. Dickinson Case Amer. Drama 107 The acceptance by the motion-picture producers of a workable system of moral censorship.
1952 D. S. Thomas et al. Salvage 83 By the middle of March,..it became apparent that voluntary evacuation was not workable.
2003 Daily Tel. 16 Dec. i. 10/2 It was right to ‘take time’ to find a workable solution.
3. Of a person or animal: suitable for work; capable of working. Of a person's age: at which employment is possible or appropriate.
ΘΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > [adjective] > capable of working
workable1798
1798 Ann. Agric. 30 146 Any employment exerciseable by children of the lowest workable age.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 316/1 Very nearly seven millions of wives and children of a workable age still unoccupied.
1892 Baily's Mag. Nov. 324/2 It [sc. glanders] may continue for a long time, and the horse look fat and well, and be at the same time workable.
1915 Public 9 July 672/2 The factory operator..cried beseechingly for an amendment of the child-labor law which would enable him to get more and cheaper workable children.
1947 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 6 Dec. 134/1 Slavery of workable adults, raping of women, and starvation of children.
2013 M. Brussig & M. Knuth in C. Lindsay & D. Houston Disability Benefits, Welfare Reform & Employm. Policy ix. 154 Disability pensions may be taken up at any workable age.
Derivatives
ˈworkableness n. = workability n.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > [noun] > feasibility
possibilityc1385
feasibility1624
feasibleness1633
possibleness1642
practicableness1648
practicability1665
workableness1791
executibility1801
workability1843
operability1905
performability1941
viability1955
society > occupation and work > materials > types of material generally > working qualities of materials > [noun]
fusibility1624
malleability1644
fusibleness1684
pliability1725
plasticity1727
impermeability1755
unvitrescibility1786
vitrescibility1786
workableness1791
refractoriness1805
pumpability1881
permeability1882
mouldability1890
alkalinity1892
machinability1921
paintability1926
spinnability1939
processability1941
wear-resistance1946
extrudability1981
1791 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse Contents p. viii/2 Tried the workableness of the Rock.
1874 J. Morley On Compromise 2 The immediate and universal workableness of a policy.
1927 Rotarian Feb. 12 Rotarians of thirty-seven nations are demonstrating the workableness of the principle that ‘He profits most who serves best’.
2005 K. L. Schmitz Recovery of Wonder iii. 51 The tendency to put aside the problem of ‘literal truth’ and instead to look for scientific workableness and logical consistency.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1545