marketable
Meaning
Desirable to potential buyers or employers; able to be sold or marketed.
Fit or suitable for sale in a market.
Structure
Usage
She has highly marketable skills in digital design and data analysis.
The artist's early paintings became more marketable after she won the prestigious award.
The company's goal is to develop a marketable product within the next two years.
Etymology
The word 'marketable' is a relatively modern English formation, built upon the established noun and verb 'market'. The root 'market' itself has a long journey, entering English from Old North French market, which derived from Latin mercatus (past participle of mercari, "to trade"). The Latin verb is linked to merx (genitive mercis), meaning "merchandise," a term of ancient commercial life. The suffix '-able', of Latin origin via French, is attached to verbs to create adjectives indicating a passive capacity or suitability. Therefore, 'marketable' literally means "capable of being marketed" or "fit for the marketplace," a logical extension from the concrete act of trading goods to the abstract quality of being commercially desirable or saleable.
Analysis
'market' (from Latin mercatus, meaning "trade, marketplace") serves as the core noun/verb root. 'able' (from Latin -abilis, a suffix forming adjectives meaning "capable of, fit for") is a productive English suffix.