expendability

/ɛkspˌɛndəbˈɪlᵻɾi/ noun

The state or quality of being expendable.

Word Origin From Latin pendere 'to weigh, pay' — originally, to weigh out money. Ex- 'out' gives the sense of paying out, spending. So expendable literally means 'able to be weighed out and spent.' The same root pendere gives us spend (shortened from expend), pension (a payment weighed out), and pensive (weighing thoughts). The PIE root *spend- also yields dispense (weigh out separately) and indispensable (not able to be dispensed with). Expendability is the quality of being something you can afford to lose — something you can weigh out and let go.

noun The state or quality of being expendable. countable

In military strategy, the expendability of certain units is a calculated risk.

(名词) 可消耗性;可牺牲性

在军事策略中,某些部队的可牺牲性是一种经过计算的风险。

(sustantivo) El estado o cualidad de ser prescindible.

En la estrategia militar, la **prescindibilidad** de ciertas unidades es un riesgo calculado.

(nom) caractère sacrifiable; caractère jetable; sacrifiabilité [Le caractère de ce qui est sacrifiable, considéré comme pouvant être abandonné ou perdu sans conséquence grave.]

Dans la stratégie militaire, le **caractère sacrifiable** de certaines unités est un risque calculé.

(Substantiv) Verbrauchbarkeit; Entbehrlichkeit [Die Eigenschaft, entbehrlich oder ersetzbar zu sein; der Zustand, ohne größeren Verlust oder Nachteil eingesetzt werden zu können.]

In der Militärstrategie ist die **expendability** bestimmter Einheiten ein kalkuliertes Risiko.

(名詞) 消耗品であること、または使い捨て可能であるという性質。

軍事戦略において、特定の部隊の消耗品性は計算されたリスクである。

(substantivo) dispensabilidade [O estado ou qualidade de ser dispensável.]

Na estratégia militar, a descartabilidade de certas unidades é um risco calculado.

Word parts: ex + pend + able + ity

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