Feasibility

How to spell feasibility

11 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce feasibility

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does feasibility mean?

1. nounThe state of being possible or practical to do or achieve.

Feasibility in a sentence

• The council commissioned a study to test the feasibility of the new rail link.

• Engineers questioned the feasibility of finishing the bridge before winter.

Where does feasibility come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb facere, which meant simply 'to do' or 'to make', one of the most productive roots in the language. From facere came the Old French adjective faisible (also spelled faisable), meaning 'that can be done', built on the stem of faire 'to do'. English borrowed this in the 1400s as 'feasible', and the abstract noun 'feasibility' followed to name the quality of being achievable. The same facere root quietly sits inside a huge family of English words, including 'factory', 'manufacture', 'effect', and 'affair', so the 'feas-' opening is really 'do-able' in disguise. The spelling trap is that the sound suggests an 'a' or 'e' in several spots, yet the standard form keeps 'feas-' then '-ibility', not '-ability', because it descends from the '-ible' adjective rather than an '-able' one.

How the word is built

• feas- (from Latin facere: to do, make)
• -ibil- (capable of being)
• -ity (noun-forming suffix)