Controllabilities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The various degrees to which a system or process can be directed or influenced effectively
2. The capacity or potential for steering outcomes or behaviors in a specific direction
3. The extent to which certain factors can be regulated or managed in order to achieve desired results

Etymology: "Controllabilities" is simply the plural of "controllability," the abstract noun for the quality of being controllable. Its history is a stack of ordinary English suffixes built onto "control," which itself came into English from Anglo-French and Middle English roots. The core word traces back to Medieval Latin "contrarotulare," meaning to check against a duplicate roll, from "contrarotulus," a counter-roll used as an accounting record. Old French turned this into "contreroller," and English borrowed it as "controllen," which gradually shifted in meaning from checking accounts to exercising power over something. "Control" then took the adjective suffix "-able," inherited through Old French from Latin "-abilis," giving "controllable." Finally, the suffix "-ity," from Latin "-itas," was added to form the noun "controllability," which in turn produced its plural.