discernible

Etymology

From Middle French discernable; spelling changed from -a- to -i- in the 17th century to conform to Latin discernibilis. Synchronically analyzable as discern +‎ -ible.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /dɪˈsɝnɪbl̩/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dɪˈsɜːnɪbl̩/
• Hyphenation: dis‧cern‧ible

Adjective

discernible (comparative more discernible, superlative most discernible)

1. Possible to discern; detectable or derivable by use of the senses or the intellect.

   There is a discernible performance difference between a Porsche and a Civic.

   • 1821, John Duncan, Duncan's Travels:

     To have demolished and rebuilt the walls, would have been a very costly expedient, and as the least of two evils, the painter's brush was resorted to; here and there however, above some of the windows, the black wreathings of the smoke are still discernible through the white covering.

   • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 29686887 , chapter IV:

     So this was my future home, I thought! […] Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.

Anagrams

• rescindible

Adjective

discernible (plural discernibles)

1. discernible