suitability
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Pronunciation
Etymology
It is formed from English suitable + -ity,[2][3] after the pattern of nouns in -bility.[3] Suitable is formed from the verb suit with -able, after agreeable.[3][2] The OED notes that the earlier noun was suitableness.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
The quality of being suitable or appropriate: 1648, in a work by R. Wilkinson.[3] The 1989 edition of the OED dated the word to 1681–6,[4] and Etymonline to the 1680s.[2]
Semantic evolution
The word took over from suitableness the general sense of fitness or appropriateness;[3] from 1659 it also denoted an instance of it.[3] An early sense of conformity to something is now obsolete.[3] Merriam-Webster distinguishes compatibility, as between two people, from fitness or qualification for a role.[5]
Timeline
- 1648 – the quality of being suitable; appropriateness.[3] The 1989 edition of the OED dated it to 1681–6.[4]
- 1659 – an instance of suitability.[3]
Meanings
Noun
- The quality or state of being suitable or appropriate for a purpose or occasion: They questioned the suitability of the site for a school.[5][3]
- Fitness or qualification for a role or position.[5]
- Compatibility, as between two people.[5]
- An instance of being suitable.[3]
Related words
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster