Ability
/əˈbɪl.ə.ti/noun
The power or skill to do something.
Did you know?Ability comes through Latin habilitas, from habilis meaning “easy to handle” or “fit,” ultimately from habēre, “to have, hold,” a root that also lives in *habit*, *habitat*, and *exhibit*.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʰabʰ-
“to grasp, hold”
Latin
Latin
habēre
“to have, hold, possess”
Latin
Latin
habilis
“easily handled; fit, apt”
Late Latin
Latin
habilitās
“fitness, aptitude”
Middle English
English
abilite
“ability, capacity”
Modern English
English
ability
“power or skill to do something”