ability English · revision 3171

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1398, Trevisa|origins=la habilis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /əˈbɪl.ə.ti/, US /əˈbɪl.ə.t̬i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|ablete]], later abilite,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) [[bor|fro|ableté|t=ability (to inherit)]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|habilitās|t=aptitude]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|habilis|t=easy to manage, handy, apt]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) the source of [[able]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) In the 1400s the spelling ablete gave way to abilite, after Old French habilité, a learned borrowing from Latin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The Latin h was never established in English:^(Barnhart 1988) although 16th- and 17th-century scholars such as Bacon, More and Hooker wrote it, the attempt was dropped by the end of the 1600s.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Suitableness, fitness: about 1380,^(OED 1989) a sense now obsolete;^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002) “capacity to act” is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) about 1391 in the OED,^(OED 1989) and Barnhart's first example is from before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew's ''De Proprietatibus Rerum''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 16th century the word also meant wealth or means, from 1502,^(OED 1989) a sense that survived in Scots and in a proverb comparing gentility without ability to a pudding without suet;^(Wright 1898) bodily strength is from 1549, still common in Scotland when the OED was written.^(OED 1989) Legal capacity is from 1528.^(OED 1989) The mental sense, talent or cleverness, is from 1604,^(OED 1989) and ''abilities'', one's talents or mental endowments, from the 1580s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Johnson (1755) defined ability as the power to do anything, whether depending on skill, riches or strength.^(Johnson 1755)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1380 – suitableness, fitness.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1398 – capacity to act.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1502 – wealth, means.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1528 – legal capacity.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1549 – bodily strength.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1580s – ''abilities'', talents.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1604 – mental power, cleverness.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The quality of being able to do something; physical, mental, financial or legal [[power]] to act.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A natural or acquired [[skill]] or [[talent]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[notability]]

+ * [[subability]]

+ * [[ability grouping]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[able]]

+ * [[habilitate]]

+ * [[rehabilitate]]

+ * [[inability]]

+ * [[disability]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ability'' is the general word for the power, mental or physical, to do something;^(AHD) ''capacity'' stresses an inborn potential for growth, ''faculty'' an inherent power, ''talent'' an inborn gift, especially in the arts, and ''skill'' ability gained through practice.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}