ability

noun, plural a·bil·i·ties.

power or capacity to do or act physically, mentally, legally, morally, financially, etc.

competence in an activity or occupation because of one's skill, training, or other qualification: the ability to sing well.

abilities, talents; special skills or aptitudes: Composing music is beyond his abilities.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English (h)abilite < Middle French < Latin habilitās aptitude, equivalent to habili(s) handy (see able) + -tās -ty²; replacing Middle English ablete < Old French < Latin, as above

Related forms

sub·a·bil·i·ty, noun, plural sub·a·bil·i·ties.

Can be confused: ability, capacity.

Synonyms
1. capability; proficiency, expertness, dexterity. 2. Ability, faculty, talent denote qualifications or powers. Ability is a general word for power, native or acquired, enabling one to do things well: a person of great ability; ability in mathematics. Faculty denotes a natural ability for a particular kind of action: a faculty of saying what he means. Talent is often used to mean a native ability or aptitude in a special field: a talent for music or art.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

a combination of -able and -ity, found on nouns corresponding to adjectives in -able:, capability.

Origin:
Middle English -abilite ≪ Latin -ābilitās

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To ability

Collins

World English Dictionary

ability (əˈbɪlɪtɪ)

—n , pl -ties
1.	possession of the qualities required to do something; necessary skill, competence, or power: the ability to cope with a problem
2.	considerable proficiency; natural capability: a man of ability
3.	(plural) special talents

[C14: from Old French from Latin habilitās aptitude, handiness, from habilisable]

-able

—*suffix forming adjectives*
1.	capable of, suitable for, or deserving of (being acted upon as indicated): enjoyable; pitiable; readable; separable; washable
2.	inclined to; given to; able to; causing: comfortable; reasonable; variable

[via Old French from Latin -ābilis,-ībilis, forms of -bilis, adjectival suffix]

-ably

—*suffix forming adverbs*

-ability

—*suffix forming nouns*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

ability

late 14c., from O.Fr. ableté "expert at handling (something)," from L. habilitatem (nom. habilitas) "aptitude," from habilis "easy to manage, handy" (see able). One case where a silent L. -h- failed to make a return in Eng. (despite efforts of 16c.-17c. scholars); see H.

-ability

suffix expressing ability, fitness, or capacity, from L. -abilitas, forming nouns from adjs. ending in -abilis (see -able). Not etymologically related to ability, though popularly connected with it.

Example sentences

They say all lovers swear more performance than they are able, and yet reserve

an ability that they never perform.

Without new batteries and new gyroscopes it would lose both the power and the

ability to point in the right direction.

The ability to spread underlies the killing power of cancer.

She also tested the monkeys' ability to do subtraction by covering a number of

objects and then removing some of them.

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