Capable of being reduced, lessened, or abolished; something that can be abated or diminished.
From 'abate' (to reduce or lessen, from Old French 'abatre,' meaning to beat down) + '-able' (capable of). The root 'abatre' combines 'a-' (to) + 'batre' (to beat).
In law, an 'abatable nuisance' is something harmful that can legally be stopped or reduced—it's a word that gives people actual power to fix things. The legal system depends on concepts like this to determine what problems must be fixed and which we just have to live with.
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