Etymologically
Log in

vulnerability

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌvʌln(ə)ɹəˈbɪlɪti/[1]
  • US: /ˌvʌln(ə)ɹəˈbɪləti/[1]

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.

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