Origin: Latin suffix -able
Sustainable has 2 different meanings across 1 category:
capable of being sustained
"The new community garden relies on a sustainable water system that captures rain to keep plants alive during the dry season."
Able to be sustained.
"The city's new wind farm is truly sustainable because its output can consistently meet the region's energy demands for decades without depletion."
In plain English: Sustainable means something can continue for a long time without running out or causing harm to the future.
"The company decided to switch to sustainable materials for their new packaging."
The word sustainable comes from combining the Latin root sustain, meaning to hold up or support, with the suffix -able. It entered English as a compound formation to describe something capable of being maintained over time.