separable

American  

[sep-er-uh-buhl, sep-ruh-] / ˈsɛp ər ə bəl, ˈsɛp rə- /

adjective

1. capable of being separated, parted, or dissociated.

2. Mathematics.

   1. containing a countable dense subset.

   2. (of a differential equation) capable of being written so that coefficients of the differentials of the independent and dependent variables are, respectively, functions of these variables alone.

---

separable British  

/ ˈsɛprəbəl, ˈsɛpərəbəl /

adjective

1. able to be separated, divided, or parted

---

Other Word Forms

• nonseparability
  noun
• nonseparable
  adjective
• nonseparableness
  noun
• nonseparably
  adverb
• separability
  noun
• separableness
  noun
• separably
  adverb
• unseparable
  adjective
• unseparableness
  noun
• unseparably
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of separable

1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin sēparābilis, equivalent to sēparā ( re ) to separate + -bilis -ble

Explanation

Things that are separable can be pulled apart or divided from each other. You may feel that someone's political opinions don't matter, because they are completely separable from the kind of person they are. If you're extremely close to your best friend, the two of you might not be emotionally separable. In other words, you are emotionally attached to each other, or inseparable. But unless you're handcuffed together, you are physically separable. This adjective is clearly related to the verb separate, "move apart or form a boundary between," from the Latin root separare, "pull apart."

Example Sentences

A Separable Accident is one which belongs only to some members of a class.

From Deductive Logic by Stock, St. George William Joseph

Separable current taps should be installed in handy places on all circuits, so that small heating devices may be used without removing the lamps from their sockets.

From Electricity for the farm Light, heat and power by inexpensive methods from the water wheel or farm engine by Anderson, Frederick Irving