Disputability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The property of being able to be questioned or doubted by others
2. The characteristic of something that allows it to be challenged or debated by different viewpoints
3. A state in which a claim or fact can be reasonably contested or called into question

Etymology: Disputability is a straightforward formation: English took "dispute" from Old French "desputer", itself from Latin "disputare", and then added the suffix "-ability", which came through Middle French from Latin "-abilitas". Attaching "-ability" to a verb stem gives the sense "capable of being" something, so "disputability" means the capacity of a claim to be disputed. The base verb has a sharper origin than the suffix suggests. Latin "disputare" is built from "dis-", meaning apart or in different directions, and "putare", to reckon, weigh or consider. The original image is of separating things out and weighing them against one another, and the sense of arguing a point came from that act of weighing. The noun is a modern coinage built on this stock of English parts, so its history is simply that of its pieces. "Dispute" arrived in Middle English, and the suffix "-ability" was added to form the abstract noun in English.

Synonyms: contestability, arguability, debate, controversy, questionability

Antonyms: certainty, indisputability, clarity, assuredness, definiteness