fungible means able to be substituted for something of equal value or utility. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
fungible is pronounced /ˈfʌndʒɪbəl/.
Why “fungible” is a great word
Capable of mutual substitution with another identical item or unit of the same kind, especially in commerce or law. From Medieval Latin fungibilis, from Latin fungor ("to perform, discharge"), as in the legal phrase fungī vice ("to take the place of"), + the suffix -ibilis ("-ible"). First attested in English as a noun in 1765 and as an adjective in 1818. Unlike "interchangeable," which suggests a general capacity for swap, or "unique," which declares irreplaceable singularity, fungible describes a strict equivalence where individual identity is extinguished by contractual function. It is a grain of wheat lost in a silo, a dollar bill spent without regard for its serial number, a barrel of crude oil in a vast reserve—a quiet triumph of pure utility over the particular, rendering possession anonymous and abstract.
Etymology
1765 as noun, 1818 as adjective, from Medieval Latin fungibilis, from Latin fungor (“to perform, discharge a duty”) + -ible (“able to”). Originally a legal term, going back to Roman law: res fungibiles (“replaceable things”).
adj
- Able to be substituted for something of equal value or utility.“.”
noun
- Any fungible item.“The archetypical fungible is money: if I drop a £1 coin in the street it is a matter of indifference to me whether I pick up that coin or another £1 coin lying next to it.”