Tightenable

Discussion in 'Linguistics' started by Steve100, Oct 14, 2016.

  1. Steve100 O͓͍̯̬̯̙͈̟̥̳̩͒̆̿ͬ̑̀̓̿͋ͬ ̙̳ͅ ̫̪̳͔O Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,346
    If something can be tightened then it has the property of being tightenable.
    However as far as I can find; "tightenable" is not a real word.

    What word could I use, or what is the shortest phrase I could use otherwise?

    Also, I don't necessarily mean the opposite of loose.
     
  2. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  3. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    54,036
    What's wrong with loose? Anything loose is has the possibility of being tightened.
     
  4. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  5. sculptor Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,466
    I like the specificity of tightenable.
    also
    (the dictionary in here doesn't seem to mind the word tightenable)
     
  6. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  7. sculptor Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,466
    as/re the ak47:
    "The integrated gas piston and bolt carrier's parts were designed to fit loosely in the receiver, making the mechanism less susceptible to the effects of carbon buildup, rust and dirt—and thus less prone to jamming. Kalashnikov claimed credit for these ideas, but they were actually adopted from other Soviet designs of the time, including Alexey Sudayev's AS-44. After Sudayev died in 1946, his "loose fit" concept was used by other designers."

    It seems we have an instance of:
    Loose, but not tightenable.
     
  8. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    54,036
    You could always design it with tighter tolerances.
     
  9. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    7,057
    Adjustable.
     
  10. sculptor Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,466
    True:
    However: The design goal was a weapon that could withstand the carbon build-up, dust and dirt and rust of prolonged field use.
    and
    it works
    and, i suspect, it is what gives the rifle it's distinctive bark.

    As/re adjustable.
    Last year I had to adjust the sights on the rifle. 40 clicks to move the crosshair from left to right----------wow.
    And then when I had adjusted the scope to the barrel, I tightened all.
    Tightenable really seems the most specific.
    I like it.
     
  11. karenmansker HSIRI Banned

    Messages:
    638
    For screws: Rotationally tensionable (tic!)
     
    sculptor likes this.
  12. sculptor Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,466
    Drop the rotationally, and tensionable seems a match for tightenable?
     
  13. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    7,057
    Adjustable is less specific - which is why I like it.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!



    Does tightenable also include loosenable? Or is it a one-way street?
     
  14. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

    Messages:
    24,690
    The modern English language--especially here in the USA--is quite flexible. It is quite common to coin new words, so long as their meanings are easily understood.

    I'm certain that no adult American would have any trouble at all understanding the meaning of "tightenable," so whether or not it's in the dictionary is unimportant. No one is going to bother looking it up!

    That said... it is a rather awkward word, so it will probably not become very popular.
     
  15. danshawen Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    3,951
    If something like a knot in a rope or a shoelace is tightenable, then it is possible for it to become more frictionally and compactly compressed or convoluted by means of pulling on the ends. But if a belt buckle or a nylon zip tie is tightenable, it simply means that whatever is bound by it is compressible.

    A budget that is tightenable may have little to do with compression of wallets and by proxy belts, but suggests starvation as a means of further compression in situations where no more tightening is currently possible.
     
  16. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

    Messages:
    24,690
    In colloquial everyday American English, we coin words all the time that are not in the dictionary.

    I can assure you that if you speak or write the word "tightenable," absolutely everyone who hears it or sees it will understand what you mean. Furthermore, I'm sure that only a very small percentage of those people are going to stop and say (to themselves, if not to you), "Hey, that's not a real word!"

    I'm the Linguistics Moderator, which means that I have at least a modest set of credentials, and even I had to look it up. But if you used it in a sentence (written or spoken)outside of this website, I would not have launched into a discourse about making up words. We all do it.

    I don't know if this is common in the other Anglophone countries. The Aussies are even more informal than us Americans, so I'd expect them to do it. The Brits? They might do it in very informal settings, but probably not in writing.
    Of course. Just because something is loose, that doesn't automatically imply that it can be tightened or retightened. The reason that the gadget in question is loose may be that it's worn out and some of the pieces simply won't turn anymore!
     
  17. Xelasnave.1947 Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,502
    I find the word tightenable very useibly.
    Alex
     

Share This Page