"viable" = possibly true; conceivable

[Charles Doyle]

Elliptical for "defensible or explicable in a way that might be (metaphorically) viable"--no?

Seems like I've even seen it as a sentence-adverb: "Viably, he was setting things up in the years he spent in the Holy Land . . . ."

--Charlie
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---- Original message ----
>Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 11:57:05 -0800
>From: Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
>Subject: "viable" = possibly true; conceivable

>
>Not in OED. Have seen this once or twice before in undergrad writing:
>
>  2006 Susie Hodge _The Knights Templar_ (London: Hermes House) 21: It is not clear whether or not he was directly involved in the original founding of the Order. It is viable that he was setting things up in the years he spent in the Holy Land during 1104-8 and 1114-15.
>
>  The author holds a master's degree in art history research from the University of London and teaches at both secondary and higher levels.
>
>  JL

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