fissility
|fis-sil-i-ty|
/fɪˈsɪlɪti/
ability or tendency to split
Etymology
'fissility' originates from Latin, specifically the Late Latin/Neo-Latin adjective 'fissilis', derived from the past participle 'fissus' of the Latin verb 'findere' meaning 'to split'.
'fissilis' (Late Latin) was used to mean 'able to be split'; from Medieval/Neo-Latin forms such as 'fissilitas' the English adjective 'fissile' and the noun 'fissility' were formed and adopted into English (chiefly in scientific usage) by the 19th century.
Initially it meant 'able to be split' in a general sense; over time it has become specialised in scientific contexts to mean either the ease with which rocks split along planes or the tendency of a nucleus to undergo fission.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the tendency or property of a rock, mineral, or material to split easily along defined planes or layers (cleavage).
The fissility of the shale allowed workers to split it into thin slabs.
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Noun 2
in nuclear physics, the property of a nucleus (or nuclide) that indicates its ability to undergo fission when struck by a neutron; often discussed as how readily a material will fission.
Scientists measured the fissility of the isotope to assess its usefulness in reactor fuel.
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Last updated: 2025/09/09 18:10