• frangible • Pronunciation: fræn-jê-bêl • Hear it! Part of
Speech: Adjective Meaning: Breakable, capable of being broken.
Notes: Frangible objects are breakable though not necessarily
fragile, which implies delicacy and fineness. The difference
between breakable and frangible is one of context: ordinary
things tend to be breakable (breakable toys) while museum pieces
tend to be frangible. The noun for this word is frangibility.
Anything that is unbreakable is infrangible. In Play: It always
helps in avoiding chores to impress your parents with your
vocabulary. Try this sometime: "Dad, I said I'd clean the garage
if I had time Saturday; I didn't sign an infrangible contract."
I would have happily cleaned the garage in exchange for knowing
that my teenage son had mastered infrangible. However, today's
Good Word is not just for joking; it can be used sternly, too:
"Lionel, be careful; that vase is sturdy but still quite
frangible." Word History: Today's Good Word first appeared in
1391, a borrowing from Latin f