Consumability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality or state of something being able to be consumed, used, or depleted
2. A measure of how easily a product or resource can be entirely used or consumed
3. The characteristic that determines the extent to which something can be consumed or exhausted

Etymology: "Consumability" is formed from "consume" plus the suffix "-ability," which turns an adjective ending in "-able" into a noun for the quality it describes. "Consume" came into English from Latin "consumere," meaning "to take up entirely" or "to use up," built from "com-" (together, thoroughly) and "sumere" (to take). The Latin root is the same one behind "assume" and "resume." The base word "consumable" is older and more familiar, used for goods that are used up, such as food, fuel, or supplies, as distinct from durable goods that last. "Consumability" follows the same pattern as "readability" or "durability," adding the noun ending to describe the state of being usable up in that way.

Synonyms: edibility, usability