visible
English
Etymology
From Middle English visible, from Old French visible, from Late Latin visibilis (“that may be seen”), from Latin videre (“to see”), past participle visus; see vision. Displaced native Old English ġesewenlīċ.
Pronunciation
- enPR: vĭz'ə-bəl, IPA(key): /ˈvɪzəb(ə)l/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪbəl
Adjective
visible (comparative more visible, superlative most visible)
- Able to be seen.
- When the sun rises, the world becomes visible.
- 1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Cameleon”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], OCLC 152706203, 3rd book, page 133:
- It cannot be denied it [the chameleon] is (if not the moſt of any) a very abſtemious animall, and ſuch as by reaſon of its frigidity, paucity of bloud, and latitancy in the winter (about which time the obſervations are often made) will long ſubſist without a viſible ſuſtentation.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 222716698:
- Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, the consciousness dawning upon him that his eccentricity was not receiving the ovation it merited.
- 2013 May-June, William E. Conner, “An Acoustic Arms Race”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 206-7:
- Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close […] above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them. Many insects probably use this strategy, which is a close analogy to crypsis in the visible world—camouflage and other methods for blending into one’s visual background.
- Synonyms: apparent, seeable
- Antonyms: hidden, invisible
Derived terms
- visible light
- visible minority
- visibles
- visible spectrum
- visible speech
Related terms
- evidence
- video
- visage
- visibility
- vision
- visionary
- visual
- visualization
- visualize
Translations
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Further reading
- visible in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- visible in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
Asturian
Adjective
visible (epicene, plural visibles)
- visible (able to be seen)
Catalan
Etymology
From Latin vīsibilis.
Pronunciation
- (Balearic) IPA(key): /viˈzi.blə/
- (Central) IPA(key): /biˈzi.blə/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /viˈzi.ble/
Adjective
visible (masculine and feminine plural visibles)
- visible
- Antonym: invisible
Derived terms
- visiblement
Related terms
- visibilitat
Further reading
- “visible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
French
Etymology
Latin visibilis
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /vi.zibl/
audio (file)
Adjective
visible (plural visibles)
- visible
Derived terms
- partie visible de l'iceberg
- visiblement
Further reading
- “visible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician
Alternative forms
- visíbel
Adjective
visible m or f (plural visibles)
- visible
Antonyms
- invisible
Derived terms
- visiblemente
Related terms
- visibilidade
Old French
Etymology
Late 12th century, borrowed from Latin visibilis.
Adjective
visible m (oblique and nominative feminine singular visible)
- visible (able to be seen)
Spanish
Etymology
From Late Latin vīsibilis (“that may be seen”), from Latin vīsus, perfect passive participle of videō (“to see”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /biˈsible/ [biˈsi.β̞le]
- Rhymes: -ible
- Syllabification: vi‧si‧ble
Adjective
visible (plural visibles)
- visible
- Antonym: invisible
Derived terms
- visiblemente
Related terms
- ver
- visibilidad
- visibilizar
- visión
- vista
Further reading
- “visible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014