adskillelig

Adskillelig is an adjective used in Danish and Norwegian to describe something that can be separated or distinguished. Depending on the context, it may be rendered in English as “separable” or “distinguishable.” The term applies in everyday speech as well as in technical discourse when highlighting the ability to separate objects, components, or ideas into distinct parts or categories.

Etymology: It is formed from the verb adskille “to separate” plus the suffix -lig, which marks capability or suitability. The word is found in Danish and Norwegian-language texts and shares cognates across the Scandinavian languages.

Usage: In mathematical, logical, or philosophical contexts, adskillelig can describe entities that can be distinguished by some property or relation, or decomposed into separable parts. The exact technical meaning depends on the discipline and the language; English equivalents include separable, discriminable, or distinguishable. In everyday Danish and Norwegian, it can simply describe things that are easily told apart.

See also: Separable (mathematics); Distinguishability; Separation (philosophy).