tastbare

Tastbare is the inflected form of the Dutch adjective tastbaar, meaning tangible or palpable. It is used to describe things that can be perceived physically or shown to be real and verifiable. In practice, tastbare modifies plural nouns or singular nouns preceded by a definite determiner, such as in de tastbare feiten or de tastbare bewijzen.

Morphology and usage notes: In Dutch, adjectives agree with the noun they modify. The form tastbare appears before plural nouns and after definite determiners (de, het, de …). For singular indefinite usage, the base form tastbaar is typically used (een tastbaar feit, een tastbaar bewijs). The term can refer to concrete objects as well as to metaphorical evidence or results, where the emphasis is on concreteness or verificability.

Etymology: Tastbare derives from tastbaar, which traces to the Dutch verb tast(e)n (to touch) and the suffix -baar meaning "able to be." It shares cognates with other Germanic languages, such as German tastbar and the English concept of tangibility.

Context and interpretation: Tastbare is common in journalism, law, and science when distinguishing verifiable or concrete elements from abstract or theoretical ones. Examples include tastbare feiten (tangible facts), tastbare bewijzen (concrete evidence), and tastbare vooruitgang (visible or measurable progress). It can also be used metaphorically to denote clear, demonstrable qualities or outcomes.

See also: tastbaar, tangible, palpable.