practiceable

English

Etymology

From practice (verb) +‎ -able.

Adjective

practiceable (comparative more practiceable, superlative most practiceable)

1. Alternative form of practicable.
   • 1644, “A Bank of Lands; or, an Improvement of Lands, never thought on in former Ages: […]”, in Samuel Hartlib His Legacy of Husbandry. Wherein Are Bequeathed to the Common-wealth of England, Not Onely Braband and Flanders, but Also Many More Outlandish and Domestick Experiments and Secrets (of Gabriel Plats and Others) Never Heretofore Divulged in Reference to Universal Husbandry. […], 3rd edition, London: […] J. M. for Richard Wodnothe, […], published 1655, page 296:

     If any ſhould here expect a more full opening of the nature of ſuch Banks of ſecurity, and other circumſtances relating to the practice thereof, it is not my ſcope to inſiſt thereon at preſent, leaſt the diſcourſe might become too large for men of buſineſſe: It may ſuffice in the mean time that the thing it ſelf plainly appeares to be practiceable, there being nothing in it but what is dayly acted amongſt men: […]

   • 1867, W[illia]m H[eath] Byford, “Ovarian Tumors”, in The Practice of Medicine and Surgery Applied to the Diseases and Accidents Incident to Women, 2nd edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lindsay & Blakiston, page 441:

     The immediate objects to be accomplished are, first, to arrest the growth of the tumor, bring it to a stand-still, and thus avoid the disastrous results which attend the attainment of very large size, with its consequent pressure, ruptures, &c. Second, when this is not practiceable, to obliterate the sac or sacs.

   • 1877 July 19, “A Balloon with Wings and Tail”, in R. M. Birkman, editor, The Indiana Progress, volume VIII, number 28, Indiana, Pa., page [3], column 6:

     His balloon can be made to travel against contrary winds, and when this is not practiceable, it will tack to and fro like a ship.

   • 2000 January, Gary Herrigel, “[Book Reviews] Manufacturing Ideology: Scientific Management in Twentieth-Century Japan. By William M. Tsutsui. […]”, in Roger V. Gould, editor, American Journal of Sociology, volume 105, number 4, Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, →ISSN, page 1214:

     Fordism, by contrast, is oriented toward the achievement of economies of scale in production by the elimination of labor by machinery. This latter approach was never practiceable in Japan because the smaller, more fragmented Japanese markets meant producers were constantly having to vary what they produced and had to settle for smaller lot sizes.

References

• “practiceable, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.