Possibility

How to spell possibility

11 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce possibility

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does possibility mean?

1. nounThe state or fact of something being able to happen or be the case.

Possibility in a sentence

• The manager raised the possibility of relocating the whole office.

• There is a real possibility that the flight will be delayed by the storm.

Where does possibility come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin possibilis, meaning 'that which can be done' or 'capable of being', which was built on the verb posse, 'to be able'. That verb was itself a fusion of potis, meaning 'able' or 'powerful', and esse, 'to be', so at its core the word is about having the power for something to happen. The abstract noun form possibilitas gave the sense of a thing that is merely capable of occurring, not certain to. English took the word in during the 1300s through Old French possibilite, keeping the Latin double 's' that still trips up modern writers. The same posse root lies behind 'potent', 'power', and 'possess', all carrying that ancient idea of capacity and ability.

How the word is built

• poss- (from posse: to be able)
• -ibil- (capable of)
• -ity (noun-forming suffix)