Pronounced 'fên-jê-bêl. Latin fungibilis, which comes from fungi vice-, to perform (in place of).

Interchangeable; in legal terms, something that can be substituted to satisfy an obligation, Gold bullion and the equivalent dollars are fungible. Also: Commodities, options, and securities are fungible assets. In chemical engineering, a fungible petroleum product is one that has similar characteristics to others, so they can be blended. This is an example of a useful word being taken from one discipline as in law for this term and applied with specific definition by another discipline.

By today's standards fungible is usually applicable when one is demanding restitution for a wrongdoing. Originating in medieval England (c.1100 to c.1500) as a part of the British legal code. The language of law was Latin throughout the Western world and was the lingua franca because of the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church. "Fungible" derives from the legal, secular use of Latin during the Middle Ages.