Frangible
Adjective
- Fragile; brittle.
Example Sentences
“Make sure to mark the box containing the frangible items with a ‘Fragile’ sticker.”
“The tiny puppy feels frangible, but he’s doubling in size almost every week.”
“Children aren’t allowed into the antique store, because it’s full of frangible items.”
Word Origin
Latin, 15th century
Why this word?
“Frangible” is an adjective describing delicate or breakable objects. It’s most useful describing a brittle texture that could snap or crumble in your hands. The Latin root of “frangible” is “frangere,” meaning “to break,” which is also the same root of the word “fragile.” While “fragile” is a synonym for “frangible” when it’s describing an object, “fragile” has a second usage for describing people. In this sense, a fragile person is “not strong or sturdy; delicate and vulnerable.”