palpably

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

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Collins

World English Dictionary

palpable (ˈpælpəb^əl)

—*adj*
1.	(usually prenominal) easily perceived by the senses or the mind; obvious: the excuse was a palpable lie
2.	capable of being touched; tangible
3.	med capable of being discerned by the sense of touch: a palpable tumour

[C14: from Late Latin palpābilis that may be touched, from Latin palpāre to stroke, touch]

palpa'bility

—n

'palpableness

—n

'palpably

—*adv*

palpable (ˈpælpəb^əl)

—*adj*
1.	(usually prenominal) easily perceived by the senses or the mind; obvious: the excuse was a palpable lie
2.	capable of being touched; tangible
3.	med capable of being discerned by the sense of touch: a palpable tumour

[C14: from Late Latin palpābilis that may be touched, from Latin palpāre to stroke, touch]

palpa'bility

—n

'palpableness

—n

'palpably

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

palpable

late 14c., "that can be touched," from L.L. palpabilis "that may be touched or felt," from L. palpare "touch gently, stroke" (see feel (v.)). Figurative sense of "easily perceived, evident" is from 1540s.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

palpable pal·pa·ble (pāl'pə-bəl)
n.

Perceptible to touch; capable of being palpated.
Evident; obvious.

Example sentences

Few fiction or nonfiction films nail the sense of place and time as palpably as

this one does.

But the claim was palpably false if the people included the rest of the country.

He's not big, but there's something palpably unflinching about him.

He is palpably shocked whenever he sees himself in a mirror.

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Matching Quote

"A picture wants solidity, a statue wants colour. But we see the want of colour as a palpably glaring defect, and we do not see the want of solidity, the effects of which to the spectator are supplied by light and shadow. A picture is as perfect an imitation of nature as is conveyed by a looking-glass; which is all that the eye can require, for it is all it can take in for the time being. A fine picture resembles a real living man; the finest statue in the world can only resemble a man turned to stone. The one is an image, the other a cold abstraction of nature. It leaves out half the visible impression.... It appears to me that sculpture, though not proper to express health or life or motion, accords admirably with the repose of the tomb; and that it cannot be better employed than in arresting the fleeting dust in imperishable forms, and in embodying a lifeless shadow. Painting, on the contrary, from what I have seen of it in Catholic countries, seems to be out of its place on the walls of churches; it has a flat and flimsy effect contrasted with the solidity of the building, and its rich flaunting colours harmonize but ill with solemnity of the surrounding scene."

-William Hazlitt

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