Where does “workability” come from?
Workability comes from English work plus the suffix -ability, which derives from Middle English werk, Old English wyrċan, Latin -ibilitas and -ibilis, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wer- and wreg-.
workability (English): The ease with which something can be worked or...
Definitions
- The ease with which something can be worked or...
Ancestry of “workability”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -ability | ability, inclination or suitability for a... |
| 2 | Middle English | -ablete | — |
| 3 | Middle French | -ableté | — |
| 4 | Latin | -abilitas | — |
| 5 | Latin | -ibilis | -able; able or worthy to be |
| 6 | Latin | -bilis | -ble |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -ðlis | Forms adjectives from verb stems indicating capacity or worth of being acted on |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlis | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -dʰlom | Alternative form of *-trom; instrumental suffix;... |