serviceable

English

Etymology

From Middle English servisable, from Old French servisable, from servise. By surface analysis, service +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɝvɪsəbl̩/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɜːvɪsəbl̩/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Adjective

serviceable (comparative more serviceable, superlative most serviceable)

1. Easy to service.
2. Repairable instead of disposable.
3. In condition for use.
   • 1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC:

     I employed myself in making, as well as I could, a great many baskets, both to carry earth or to carry or lay up anything, as I had occasion; and though I did not finish them very handsomely, yet I made them sufficiently serviceable for my purpose...

   • 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter II, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0091:

     There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.

   • 1964 November, “Motive Power Miscellany: Southern Region”, in Modern Railways, page 368:

     The shortage of serviceable SR steam power has also led to the use of the surviving Q1 0-6-0s on passenger duties, particularly on the Horsham-Guildford service.

   • 2020 October 14, Phil McNulty, “England 0-1 Denmark: 'Harry Maguire looked devoid of confidence in Nations League loss'”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Maguire was always extravagantly priced at £80m but a player who is a solid and serviceable Premier League defender and has become one of England manager Gareth Southgate's most trusted squad members now looks hopelessly out of form.

Synonyms

• useful
• helpful
• usable
• functional

Derived terms

• serviceability
• serviceably

Translations

easy to service

• Bulgarian: лесен за обслужване (lesen za obslužvane)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: huoltoystävällinen, helppohuoltoinen
• French: entretenable (fr), serviable (fr)
• German: brauchbar (de), nutzerfreundlich, praktisch (de)
• Serbo-Croatian: lako namiriv
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

repairable instead of disposable

• Bulgarian: за многократна употреба (za mnogokratna upotreba)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 可維修／可维修 (kě wéixiū)

• Finnish: käyttökelpoinen (fi)
• French: réparable (fr) m or f
• German: reparierbar (de), reparaturfreundlich, wartungsfreundlich
• Serbo-Croatian: popravljiv (sh)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

in condition for use

• Bulgarian: използваем (bg) (izpolzvaem)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 可維修／可维修 (kě wéixiū)

• Finnish: käyttökelpoinen (fi)
• French: prêt à l’emploi (fr), utilisable (fr)
• German: brauchbar (de), einsatzfähig
• Hungarian: üzemképes (hu)
• Irish: infheidhme, inúsáidte
• Plautdietsch: deenstboa
• Polish: sprawny (pl) m, efektywny (pl) m
• Russian: пригодный (ru) (prigodnyj), в рабочем состоянии (v rabočem sostojanii), в нормальном техническом состоянии (v normalʹnom texničeskom sostojanii)
• Serbo-Croatian: upotrebljiv (sh)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

Anagrams

• receivables

Middle English

Adjective

serviceable

1. Alternative form of servisable