fissile

the word 'fissile' has a clear lineage from the latin verb findere, meaning 'to split'. its past participle fissus gave rise to the root 'fiss-', which consistently conveys the idea of cleaving or dividing. the adjectival suffix '-ile', also of latin origin, denotes a capacity or tendency. thus, the literal construction 'capable of splitting' perfectly describes its primary physical meaning. this logic was directly extended in the 20th century to nuclear physics, where it describes atomic nuclei capable of splitting, demonstrating how a classical root was adapted to modern scientific terminology.

Structure: fiss (split) + ile (capable of) fiss (from latin fissus, past participle of findere, meaning 'to split, cleave'); ile (a suffix from latin -ilis, forming adjectives meaning 'capable of, pertaining to').