vulnerability

Etymology

It is formed from English vulnerable + -ity.^[2][3] The adjective is borrowed from Late Latin vulnerābilis (“wounding”),^[4][3][5] from vulnerō (“to wound”), from vulnus (“wound”);^[4][3][5] it was taken in the passive sense "able to be wounded", the more usual meaning of the suffix -able.^[2] Etymonline relates the Latin noun perhaps to vellō (“to pluck, tear”), or derives it from Proto-Indo-European *wele- (“to strike, wound”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The state or quality of being easily wounded: 1767, according to Etymonline;^[3] Barnhart and the OED first record it in 1808, in More's novel “Cœlebs in Search of a Wife”.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

The noun followed the senses of vulnerable, which from the 17th century meant open to non-physical attack or injury, besides able to be wounded; from 1790 it also meant open to military attack.^[2][3] It has had specialised uses in pathology, from 1881,^[2] and in contract bridge, from 1927, for the state of a side that has won one game and so faces larger penalties and bonuses.^[2] From 1972 the plural vulnerabilities is recorded for the weak points in a military defence system,^[2] and Wiktionary gives the general sense of a particular weakness in the defences of a person or thing.^[1]

Timeline

• 1767 – the state of being easily wounded, according to Etymonline.^[3]
• 1808 – the quality or state of being vulnerable, in the OED.^[2][6]
• 1881 – in pathology.^[2]
• 1927 – in contract bridge.^[2]
• 1972 – plural, weak points in a military defence system.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The quality or state of being vulnerable; openness to physical or emotional harm or to attack: The flood showed the vulnerability of the coastal towns.
2. A particular weakness in the protections or defences of a person or thing: The engineers found a vulnerability in the bank's software.
3. (bridge) The state of being vulnerable, liable to increased penalties and bonuses.

Related words

• vulnerable
• invulnerable
• vulnerary

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins