Word of the Day

: January 10, 2011

issuable

adjective ISH-oo-uh-bul

What It Means

1 : open to contest, debate, or litigation

2 : authorized for issue

3 : possible as a result or consequence

issuable in Context

When they created their new LLC, the owners decided to start with 1,000 issuable shares.

"At the time of the first prospectus, a total of nearly 14 million shares were issued or issuable, and Nouri, his family, and his offshore partner controlled half of them." -- From David E. Y. Sarna's 2010 book History of Greed: Financial Fraud from Tulip Mania to Bernie Madoff

Did You Know?

Although "issuable" now tends to appear in financial contexts (such as in reference to shares that are eligible to be issued, or made available, according to a company's articles of incorporation), it was originally used in the late 16th century as a legal term: an issuable matter was one that was open to contest, debate, or litigation. Within a century, though, the word had taken on the meaning that it most commonly has today, "authorized for issue." In making its home in the world of finance, "issuable" is carrying on a family tradition. In the early 14th century, its predecessor "issue" was used in plural to refer to proceeds from a source of revenue, such as an estate. "Issue" itself traces back to Latin "exire," meaning "to go out."