observable

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

observe (əbˈzɜːv)

—vb (when intr, usually foll by on or upon; when tr, may take a clause as object)
1.	(tr; may take a clause as object) to see; perceive; notice: we have observed that you steal
2.	(when tr, may take a clause as object) to watch (something) carefully; pay attention to (something)
3.	to make observations of (something), esp scientific ones
4.	to make a comment or remark: the speaker observed that times had changed
5.	(tr) to abide by, keep, or follow (a custom, tradition, law, holiday, etc)

[C14: via Old French from Latin observāre, from ob- to + servāre to watch]

ob'servable

—*adj*

ob'servableness

—n

observa'bility

—n

ob'servably

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

observable

c.1600, from L. observabilis, from observare (see observe).

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

observable

(əb-zûr'və-bəl) Pronunciation Key
A measurable property of a physical system, such as mass or momentum. In quantum mechanics, observables correspond to mathematical operators used in the calculation of measurable quantities. Operators that do not commute, having a nonzero commutator, correspond to observables that cannot be precisely measured at the same time, such as momentum and position. See also uncertainty principle.

Example sentences

Observable laws still operate, but they are activated by chance.

He showed that the process is observable in the fish.

Cosmologists often refer to it as the observable universe.

Particles could carry momentum into the extra dimension, and that could

actually be observable.

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Matching Quote

"The man, or the boy, in his development is psychologically deterred from incorporating serving characteristics by an easily observable fact: there are already people around who are clearly meant to serve and they are girls and women. To perform the activities these people are doing is to risk being, and being thought of, and thinking of oneself, as a woman. This has been made a terrifying prospect and has been made to constitute a major threat to masculine identity."

-Jean Baker Miller