palpable

English

WOTD – 4 May 2008

Etymology

From Middle French palpable and its source, Latin palpābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpalpəbəl/
• enPR: păl'pə-bəl, IPA^(key): /ˈpælpəbəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Adjective

palpable (comparative more palpable, superlative most palpable)

1. Capable of being touched, felt or handled; touchable, tangible.

   Synonyms: tangible, touchable

   • c. 1600 William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 5, scene 2:

     Osric: A hit, a very palpable hit.

   • 1838, Edgar Allan Poe, "Ligeia":

     I had felt that some palpable although invisible object had passed lightly by my person.

   • 1894, Bret Harte, "The Heir of the McHulishes" in A Protegee of Jack Hamlin's and Other Stories:

     The next morning the fog had given way to a palpable, horizontally driving rain.

2. Obvious or easily perceived; noticeable.

   Synonyms: manifest, noticeable, patent

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:

     Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, […] . It was with a palpable relief that he heard the first warning notes of the figure.

   • 1913, Sax Rohmer, The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu chapter 24:

     Her voice, her palpable agitation, prepared us for something extraordinary.

   • 1916, Kathleen Norris, The Heart of Rachael, chapter 7:

     No use in raging, in reasoning, in arguing. No use in setting forth the facts, the palpable right and wrong.

3. (medicine) That can be detected by palpation.

Translations

capable of being touched

• Bulgarian: осезаем (bg) (osezaem), обозрим (obozrim)
• Catalan: palpable
• Dutch: tastbaar (nl)
• Finnish: käsinkosketeltava, kouriintuntuva
• French: palpable (fr)
• German: greifbar (de)
• Greek: απτός (el) (aptós), αισθητός (el) (aisthitós), ψηλαφητός (el) (psilafitós)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: tapintható (hu)
• Italian: palpabile (it)
• Latin: tactilis, (Late) palpābilis
• Portuguese: palpável (pt)
• Russian: осяза́емый (ru) (osjazájemyj), ощути́мый (ru) (oščutímyj)
• Spanish: palpable (es)

obvious

• Bulgarian: очевиден (bg) (očeviden), ясен (bg) (jasen), явен (bg) (javen)
• Catalan: palpable
• Czech: zřejmý (cs)
• Dutch: te snijden
• Finnish: selvä (fi), kouriintuntuva, käsinkosketeltava
• French: palpable (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: προφανής (el) (profanís)
• Hungarian: érzékelhető (hu)
• Italian: evidente (it)
• Portuguese: palpável (pt)
• Russian: очеви́дный (ru) (očevídnyj), я́вный (ru) (jávnyj), я́сный (ru) (jásnyj)
• Spanish: palpable (es)

that can be detected by palpation

• Dutch: palpeerbaar
• Finnish: tunnustelemalla havaittava, tunnusteltava
• Greek: ψηλαφητός (el) (psilafitós)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: palpável (pt)
• Russian: прощу́пываемый (ru) (proščúpyvajemyj)

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Catalan

Etymology

From Late Latin palpābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [pəlˈpab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [palˈpa.ble]

Adjective

palpable m or f (masculine and feminine plural palpables)

1. palpable

Further reading

• “palpable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “palpable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “palpable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “palpable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin palpābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pal.pabl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

palpable (plural palpables)

1. palpable

   Antonym: impalpable

Further reading

• “palpable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Middle French

Adjective

palpable m or f (plural palpables)

1. touchable; palpable

References

• Etymology and history of “palpable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Spanish

Etymology

From Late Latin palpābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /palˈpable/ [palˈpa.β̞le]

Adjective

palpable m or f (masculine and feminine plural palpables)

1. palpable

Further reading

• “palpable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014