observable[əb zʉrv′ə bəl]
- that can be observed; visible; discernible; noticeable
- deserving of attention; noteworthy
- that can or must be kept or celebrated: an observable holiday
Origin of observableClassical Latin observabilis
- Possible to observe: observable phenomena; an observable change in demeanor.
- Archaic Deserving or worthy of note; noteworthy: an observable anniversary.
A physical property, such as weight or temperature, that can be observed or measured directly, as distinguished from a quantity, such as work or entropy, that must be derived from observed quantities.
(comparative more observable, superlative most observable)
- Able to be observed.
- The strange new star was at the edge of the observable universe
- Deserving to be observed.
- Easter is an observable holiday
- (physics) Any physical property that can be observed and measured directly and not derived from other properties
- Temperature is an observable but entropy is derived.
- In quantum mechanics, observables correspond to Hermitian operators. Also, they act a lot like random variables. Taking their average one may recover something resembling a classical observable.