Interoperability

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌɪntəɹɒpəɹəˈbɪləti/

Definitions

1. The quality that allows distinct systems or applications to collaborate and exchange information efficiently
2. The feature permitting different technologies or software to integrate and perform together harmoniously
3. The capacity for various systems or applications to work together seamlessly and share data effectively

Etymology: "Interoperability" is a modern technical coinage, built by stacking familiar English parts. It is formed from "interoperable" plus the suffix "-ity", which turns an adjective into a noun of quality, so the word names the state of being interoperable. The adjective itself is the key: it combines "inter-", meaning "between" or "among", with "operable", meaning able to be worked or operated. Taken together, the parts describe things that can operate with one another. Some etymologists instead analyze the word as "inter-" plus "operability", which gives the same meaning by a slightly different route. Either way, the word is a product of English word-formation rather than a borrowing from Latin or Greek, and its parts are old even though the compound itself belongs to the age of computing and telecommunications, when engineers needed a precise term for separate systems exchanging information.

Synonyms: compatibility, functionality, integration

Antonyms: incompatibility, disconnection