communicable
UK[kəˈmjuː.nɪ.kə.bəl]US[kəˈmjuː.nɪ.kə.bəl]
adj
(of a disease) able to be passed from one person, animal, or organism to another; infectious.
adj
(of ideas, information, or feelings) able to be shared or transmitted.
Morpheme Breakdown
commun
ic
able
commun
common, shared
ic
adjective suffix
able
capable of
Etymology
the word communicable is built upon the latin foundation of community and sharing. its core, 'commun', carries the ancient sense of something held in common, a concept vital to both social interaction and the transfer of entities. the suffix 'ic' first solidifies this into an adjective, 'communic', relating to sharing. finally, the addition of '-able' transforms it to describe the inherent capacity or quality of being shareable. this etymological logic elegantly bridges the original notion of commonality to the modern medical and abstract meanings, framing a disease or an idea as something inherently capable of becoming common or transferred between parties.
Analysis
Structure: commun (common, shared) + ic (adjective suffix) + able (capable of)
commun originates from latin 'communis', meaning common, public, shared by all or many. ic is a latin-derived adjective-forming suffix. able is from latin '-abilis', a suffix meaning capable of, fit for, or worthy of.
Examples
measles is a highly communicable disease.
the health department monitors outbreaks of communicable illnesses.
he struggled to put his complex emotions into a communicable form.