Where does “substitutability” come from?

Substitutability derives from substitute, from Middle English substituten, from Latin substitutus, the past participle of substituo, formed with the Latin suffix -ibilis and the connecting vowel -i-.

substitutability (English): The quality of being substitutable; the capacity...

Definitions

  1. The quality of being substitutable; the capacity...

Ancestry of “substitutability”, step by step

substitutability traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English substitute

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsubstituteTo use in place of something else, with the same...
2Middle Englishsubstituten—
3Latinsubstitutussubstituted
4LatinsubstituoI place next to, under, or instead of; I...
5LatinstatuoI set up, station; I establish, determine, fix; I...
6Latinstātusfixed, set, having been set
7Latinstōto stand
8Proto-Italicstaēōstand
9Proto-Indo-Europeansth₂éh₁yetito stand
10Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-—

via English ability

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishabilitySuitableness; The quality or state of being able;...
2Middle Englishabilitesuitability, aptitude, ability
3Old Frenchableté—
4Latinhabilitāsability, aptitude, fitness
5Latinhabilisable to have/possess/maintain; having sufficient...
6Latin-ilis-ile
7Proto-Italic-elis—
8Proto-Indo-European-elis—
9Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “substitutability”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European sth₂éh₁yeti →Every word from Proto-Italic staēō →