Computability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The property of being effectively solvable through computational methods plays an essential role in the realm of algorithmic theory
2. The characteristic of a problem or function that allows for resolution via algorithmic processes is crucial in the field of theoretical computer science
3. The quality of a problem or function that enables it to be resolved by a computational procedure

Etymology: "Computability" is a late formation in English, built by attaching the suffix "-ability" to "compute." The suffix has a long lineage of its own: it descends from Latin "-abilitas," which passed through Middle French "-abilité" before English took it up, and the Latin "-abilis" ending that it comes from was itself built on the verb "habere" pattern of "-able" adjectives meaning "capable of being." Attaching it to "compute" yields a noun meaning the quality of being capable of being computed. The verb "compute" has a more layered history. It comes from Latin "computare," meaning to reckon or count together, formed from "com-" ("together") and "putare" ("to think, reckon"), and it entered English through Old French "computer." The noun, meaning the capacity to be worked out by calculation, is therefore a fully English combination of a Latin verb and a Latin-derived suffix, with the sense of reckoning carried through from the original.

Synonyms: calculability, decidability

Antonyms: undecidability, incomputability