-ability
or -ibilitysuff. Ability, inclination, or suitability for a specified action or condition: teachability.
[Middle English -abilitie, from Old French -abilite, from Latin -ābilitās, from -ābilis, -able.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
a•bil•i•ty
(əˈbɪl ɪ ti)
n., pl. -ties. 1. power or capacity to do or act physically, mentally, legally, morally, or financially.
2. competence based on natural skill, training, or other qualification.
3. abilities, talents; special skills or aptitudes.
[1350–1400; Middle English
(h)abilite < Middle French < Latin
habilitās aptitude =
habili(s) handy (see
able) +
-tās -ty2]
syn: ability,
faculty,
talent denote power or capacity to do something.
ability is the general word for a natural or acquired capacity to do things; it usu. implies doing them well:
a leader of great ability; ability in mathematics. faculty denotes a natural or acquired ability for a particular kind of action:
a faculty for putting people at ease. talent usu. denotes an exceptional natural ability or aptitude in a particular field:
a talent for music. -ability
a combination of
-able and
-ity, found on nouns corresponding to adjectives in
-able:
capability. [Middle English -abilite « Latin -ābilitās]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.