traversable

Traversable is an adjective describing something that can be traversed or crossed by a person, vehicle, or object. The word derives from traverse, from Latin trans- “across” and via “way.” In general usage it signals passability, while in specialized fields it carries more precise technical meaning about navigability or reachability.

In geography, transportation, and civil engineering, traversability refers to whether a route, terrain, or structure can be moved through safely and efficiently. Factors affecting traversability include surface type, slope, vegetation, water presence, weather, and time of day. Assessments of traversability guide planning, routing, and risk management for hikers, drivers, and logistics operations.

In mathematics, a graph is described as traversable if it contains a trail that visits every edge exactly once, i.e., an Eulerian trail. A connected graph has an Eulerian trail if and only if it has at most two vertices with odd degree. This notion is related to but distinct from Hamiltonian traversals, which aim to visit every vertex rather than every edge.

In physics and speculative contexts, a traversable wormhole is a hypothetical tunnel in spacetime that could allow passage between distant regions. Realizing such structures would require exotic matter and energy conditions beyond currently known physics; their existence remains theoretical and unproven, and they are a common motif in science fiction.