Addressability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The capacity of a system to target specific data or software components for interaction or updates
2. the quality of being accessible in order to facilitate communication or data retrieval
3. the degree to which a resource can be uniquely identified or located within a network or database

Etymology: Addressability is a plain compound: the noun "address" with the suffix "-ability," which turns an adjective ending in "-able" into a noun meaning the quality of being able to be done or reached. Here "address" is used in its computing sense, the identifier that tells a system where a piece of data or a device sits. That sense is what makes the word useful, since a resource with a clear address can be found and reached, and one without can be lost. The first half of the word has a long road behind it. "Address" came into English from Middle English "adressen," which was borrowed from Old French "adrecier," meaning to set straight or direct toward. That French verb grew from Vulgar Latin "dīrēctiāre," built on Latin "dīrēctus," "made straight," so the core idea is one of pointing something in the right direction. The sense of a location for mail followed much later, and the computing sense is later still.

Synonyms: responsiveness, availability, accessibility, reachability, contactability