breathable

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈbriðəbəl/ UK /ˈbriːðəbəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
suitable for breathing; of fabric, allowing air to pass through

The tent's breathable fabric prevented condensation inside.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · suitable for breathing; of... porous ventilated permeable airy

Opposites

airtight impermeablestiflingunbreathable

Word family

Derived forms breathability

Related forms breathe breath breather

Etymology

From breathe (Middle English brethen, from breath, Old English brǣþ, 'odor, exhalation') + the suffix -able.

brǣþ Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# breathable

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈbriðəbəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbriːðəbəl/

## Meanings
1. suitable for breathing; of fabric, allowing air to pass through

## Examples
- The tent's breathable fabric prevented condensation inside.

## Synonyms
- porous
- ventilated
- permeable
- airy

## Antonyms
- airtight
- impermeable
- stifling
- unbreathable

## Derived Forms
- breathability

## Related Forms
- breathe
- breath
- breather

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: brǣþ

## Etymology
From breathe (Middle English brethen, from breath, Old English brǣþ, 'odor, exhalation') + the suffix -able.

## AI Etymology
Breathable comes from breathe (Middle English brethen, from breath, Old English brǣþ, 'odor, exhalation') + the suffix -able. The historical trail runs through brǣþ in Old English. Morphologically, breathable is transparent: it draws on breathe (Middle English brethen, from breath, Old English brǣþ, 'odor, exhalation') + the suffix -able. Used as an adjective, breathable now means "suitable for breathing; of fabric, allowing air to pass through", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as breathability and related forms such as breathe, breath, and breather. The modern word remains analyzable through its parts, which makes the semantic connection unusually direct.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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