I have an entity and I would like to describe it as being able to be archived.
Is it archivable, archiveable? The former seems OK for me, but I could find no wiktionary.org results.
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2Possible duplicate of Adjective form of collide — collideable or collidable? and Creating words with -able suffix– RegDwigнt ♦Feb 9, 2011 at 10:48
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@RegDwight I know the rule to create words like this but I know there are exceptions I could not find this word unfortunately.– KARASZI IstvánFeb 9, 2011 at 10:52
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3 Answers
Archivable is correct. -e more often than not drops off when adding -able (it varies a lot, mostly based on whether the word looks better with or without the e; I wouldn't say this is a case that greatly calls for keeping it, and the Google stats tend to indicate others agree).
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@KARASZI István: If what you mean is that something can be archived, "archivable" is as good as it gets.– chaosFeb 9, 2011 at 10:51
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3"Generally drops off" is a bold claim. Borrowing a leaf from ShreevatsaR: "tradeable, smokeable, driveable, shareable, canoeable, diagnoseable, disagreeable, dislikeable, fireable, foreseeable, handleable, hireable, machineable, microwaveable, removeable, settleable, throttleable, unforeseeable, unnameable, upgradeable, whistleable". And in British English: "likeable, liveable, rateable, saleable, sizeable, unshakeable".– RegDwigнt ♦Feb 9, 2011 at 10:53
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@RegDwight: Well, I'd see that and raise you, but there are 69 words in a Debian
/usr/share/dict/wordsthat do appear to be formed by dropping -e and adding -able (excluding words formed by dropping more than a -e, like abominable), and the list is more than a hundred characters too long to post in a comment. I think you're right that "generally" is too much to say, though; it had been nagging at me too.– chaosFeb 9, 2011 at 11:08 -
1@HorusKol: canoeing, disagreeing, foreseeing. I think a rule for "ing" is if the word ends in two vowels, you leave them both. Oct 5, 2011 at 20:01
It is archivable, in the same way from cite you get citable.
There are some differences between British English and American English. In British English, such adjectives (derived from a verb ending in -e) are preferred when they end with -eable; in American English, the preferred form ends in -able (the -e is removed from the verb).
The dictionary I have (the NOAD) doesn't report the word archivable, but it reports citable as derivative of cite, and archival as derivative of archive.
answered Feb 9, 2011 at 10:50
The best reference point I can think of is "livable." I found this post because I had the same question about an interface I wanted to name "IArchivable." Looks to me like--regardless of how we got there, the consensus (on this side of the pond) is "archivable." So, that's what I'll be using!^)
