Viable

Viable
Capable of life. For example, a viable premature baby is one who is able to survive outside the womb.
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Capable of living; denoting a fetus sufficiently developed to live outside of the uterus. [Fr. fr. vie, life, fr. L. vita]

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vi·a·ble 'vī-ə-bəl adj
1) capable of living <the skin graft was \viable> <\viable cancer cells> esp having attained such form and development as to be normally capable of living outside the uterus often used of a human fetus at seven months but may be interpreted according to the state of the art of medicine <a \viable fetus is one sufficiently developed for extrauterine survival (Words & Phrases)> <the fetus is considered \viable when it weighs 500 grams or more and the pregnancy is over 20 weeks in duration (S. W. Jacob & C. A. Francone)>
2) capable of growing or developing <\viable eggs>

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vi·a·ble (viґə-bəl) capable of living; especially said of a fetus that has reached such a stage of development that it can live outside of the uterus. This usually connotes a fetus that weighs at least 500 gm and has reached a gestational age of 20 weeks (22 weeks after fertilization).

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • viable — [ vjabl ] adj. • 1537; de vie 1 ♦ Apte à vivre (⇒ 2. viabilité). Après le 180e jour de la grossesse, l enfant est légalement reconnu viable. Hybrides viables mais inféconds. 2 ♦ Qui présente les conditions nécessaires pour durer, se développer. ⇒ …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • viable — vi‧a‧ble [ˈvaɪəbl] adjective 1. a viable plan, system, suggestion etc is realistic and therefore may succeed: • We had two months to come up with a viable proposal for saving the factory. • If investors find that approach viable, there are no… …   Financial and business terms

  • viable — [vī′ə bəl] adj. [Fr, likely to live < vie, life < L vita: see VITAL] 1. able to live; specif., a) having developed sufficiently within the uterus to be able to live and continue normal development outside the uterus [a premature but viable… …   English World dictionary

  • viable — adj. embriol. Dícese del feto recién nacido que dado su grado de desarrollo, es capaz de vivir fuera del útero. Medical Dictionary. 2011. viable …   Diccionario médico

  • Viable — Vi a*ble, a. [F., from vie life, L. vita. See {Vital}.] (Law) Capable of living; born alive and with such form and development of organs as to be capable of living; said of a newborn, or a prematurely born, infant. [1913 Webster] Note: Unless he… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • viable — I adjective acceptable, actable, alive, appropriate, apt, capable of development, capable of growth, conceivable, doable, effective, effectual, efficacious, encouraging, expedient, favorable, feasible, functional, imaginable, legitimate, likely,… …   Law dictionary

  • viable — (adj.) 1828, from Fr. viable capable of life (1530s), from vie life (from L. vita life; see VITAL (Cf. vital)) + ABLE (Cf. able). Originally of newborn infants; generalized sense is first recorded 1848 …   Etymology dictionary

  • viable — is a 19c loanword from French, and was first used to describe a fetus or newborn child that was capable of maintaining life. Metaphorical uses developed in the 19c, but it was not until the 1940s that it became a vogue word applied to a whole… …   Modern English usage

  • viable — [adj] reasonable, practicable applicable, doable, feasible, operable, possible, usable, within possibility, workable; concepts 552,560 Ant. impossible, unachievable, unpractical, unreasonable …   New thesaurus

  • viable — ► ADJECTIVE 1) capable of working successfully; feasible. 2) Biology (of a plant, animal, or cell) capable of surviving or living successfully. DERIVATIVES viability noun viably adverb. ORIGIN French, from vie life …   English terms dictionary

  • viable — 01. Wind generated power is not yet financially [viable] on a large scale in this country. 02. Grains of wheat discovered in the great pyramids of Egypt were found to still be [viable] thousands of years after they were placed there. 03. The… …   Grammatical examples in English

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