Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “-ability” come from?

-ability (English) comes from Middle English -ablete, from Middle French -ableté, from Latin -abilitas, from Latin -ibilis, from Latin -bilis, from Proto-Italic -ðlis, from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlis, from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlom — Alternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;...

-ability (English): ability, inclination or suitability for a...

Definitions

  1. ability, inclination or suitability for a...

Ancestry of “-ability”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle English-ablete—
2Middle French-ableté—
3Latin-abilitas—
4Latin-ibilis-able; able or worthy to be
5Latin-bilis-ble
6Proto-Italic-ðlis—
7Proto-Indo-European-dʰlis—
8Proto-Indo-European-dʰlomAlternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;...

Words derived from “-ability”

  • vulnerability
  • sustainability
  • respectability
  • desirability
  • suitability
  • predictability
  • scalability
  • excitability
  • unpredictability
  • affordability
  • dependability
  • traceability
  • repeatability
  • marketability
  • transferability
  • enforceability
  • tolerability
  • survivability
  • reusability
  • patentability
  • reachability
  • maintainability
  • merchantability
  • substitutability
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -dʰlom →