appropriable

adjective

ap·​pro·​pri·​a·​ble ə-ˈprō-prē-ə-bəl 

÷ə-ˈpō-prē-

: capable of being appropriated

But the system could be used to produce unlimited numbers of unique names, and its very lacunae made it appropriable by zoologists of almost any taxonomic persuasion.

—Harriet Ritvo, The Platypus and the Mermaid, 1997

Word History

Etymology

appropriate + -able

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined above

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