Detectabilities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The capacity or ability to discern something through investigation or observation
2. The extent to which an object or phenomenon can be noticed or recognized by a detecting mechanism or human senses
3. The measure of how easily something can be identified or differentiated from its surroundings or other stimuli

Etymology: "Detectabilities" is simply the plural of "detectability," the noun for the quality of being detectable. The word is built from "detect," which comes from Latin "detegere," meaning "to uncover" or "to remove the covering from," and the English suffix "-ability," which turns an adjective such as "detectable" into a noun meaning the capacity for something to be done or noticed. The root sense is literal. "Detect" began as a word about lifting away a cover, so a thing that is detectable is one whose hidden nature can be uncovered. The suffix "-ability" follows the same pattern as words like "readability" or "reliability," attaching to adjectives that end in "-able" to name the quality they describe. The plural form appears mainly when people speak of several distinct kinds or instances of detectability, such as the different ways a signal, substance, or object might be picked up by instruments or observers.