redeemable
Meaning
Able to be exchanged for money, goods, or something else of value.
Able to be saved or freed from error, sin, or a negative condition.
Structure
Usage
The coupon is redeemable for a free drink at any participating location.
He believed that no soul was beyond being redeemable through genuine repentance.
These bonds are redeemable at their full face value upon maturity.
Etymology
The word 'redeemable' is built upon the verb 'redeem', which originates from the Latin redimere, a compound of red- (a variant of re-, meaning "back") and emere (meaning "to buy, take"). This literal sense of "buying back" was used in contexts of recovering property or freeing captives through payment. Over time, the concept broadened in Christian theology to signify spiritual salvation from sin, and in finance to mean exchanging a token for its underlying value. The suffix -able, of Latin origin, is then attached to form an adjective, shifting the meaning from the act of redeeming to the inherent quality of being capable of redemption, whether in a financial, moral, or general sense.
Analysis
- redeem: From Latin redimere (to buy back, recover), via Old French redimer. The functional role is the core verb meaning "to recover, to buy back." - able: From Latin -abilis, a suffix forming adjectives meaning "capable of, fit for, tending to." Its functional role is a suffix indicating capacity or suitability.