Suitability

How to spell suitability

11 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce suitability

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does suitability mean?

1. nounThe quality of being right or appropriate for a particular purpose, person, or situation.

Suitability in a sentence

• The panel assessed each candidate's suitability for the senior role.

• We tested the soil to confirm its suitability for growing vegetables.

Where does suitability come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on 'suit', which arrived in English in the 1300s through Old French 'sieute' or 'suite', meaning a following or a set of things that go together. That noun traces back to the Vulgar Latin 'sequita' and ultimately to the Latin verb 'sequi', meaning 'to follow'. Over time the idea of things that follow on from one another shifted toward things that match or are appropriate, giving us the verb 'suit' in the sense of 'to be fitting'. The adjective 'suitable' added the suffix '-able', meaning 'capable of', and the noun 'suitability' was formed by stacking on '-ity', a suffix marking a quality or state. The same Latin root 'sequi' lives on in relatives such as 'sequence', 'consequence', and 'pursue', which is a useful reminder that the 'suit' core stays steady while the endings pile up.

How the word is built

• suit (to fit or match, from Latin sequi 'to follow')
• -able (capable of)
• -ity (noun of quality)