definition of malleable
Word Origin and History for malleable Expand. adj. late 14c., capable of being shaped by hammering, from Middle French malleable and directly from Medieval Latin malleabilis, from malleare to beat with a hammer, from Latin malleus hammer (see mallet). Figurative sense, of persons, capable of being adapted first recorded 1610s.
(mal'Ä-Ä-bÄl) Capable of being shaped by being beaten or by pressure; a property of certain metals such as gold and silver. [L. malleus, a hammer] susceptible of being beaten out into a thin plate. malleable retractor.