nonseparability
|non-sep-a-ra-bi-li-ty|
🇺🇸
/ˌnɑnˌsɛp(ə)rəˈbɪlɪti/
🇬🇧
/ˌnɒnˌsɛp(ə)rəˈbɪlɪti/
not able to be separated
Etymology
'nonseparability' is formed in Modern English by the negative prefix 'non-' + 'separability' (the noun form of 'separable').
'separability' derives from 'separate' + suffix '-ability'; 'separate' entered English via Old French 'separer' from Latin 'separare' (from past participle 'separatus'), and the negative prefix 'non-' has been used in English since the Middle English/Modern English period to form negations—together producing the compound 'nonseparability'.
Originally the root 'separate' meant 'to make apart' in Latin; over time English formed abstract nouns like 'separability' to denote the capacity to be separated, and adding 'non-' produced the modern technical noun meaning 'the state of not being separable'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the quality or state of being not able to be separated; indivisibility.
The nonseparability of the components requires that they be processed together.
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Noun 2
in linguistics, the property of a multi-word expression (e.g., a phrasal verb or particle) that prevents its parts from being separated by other words or objects.
English phrasal verbs like 'look after' often display nonseparability: you cannot say 'look the child after' in standard English.
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Last updated: 2025/10/13 04:58