Able to be evaluated, judged, or estimated; especially able to have a tax or fee calculated on it.
From assess (from Latin assessus, past participle of assidere, meaning to sit beside or help judge) + -able (capable of being). The Latin root as- (to) + sidere (to sit) literally meant 'to sit by someone,' which evolved into 'to judge or evaluate.'
The root 'sit beside' reveals the original meaning—judges would sit beside the person being judged! This ancient image is buried in modern tax vocabulary: property is 'assessable' because assessors sit down to evaluate its value for taxes.
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