Manageability

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌmæ.nɪ.dʒəˈbɪ.lɪ.ti/

Definitions

1. The attribute of being controllable or easy to direct indicates a situation's potential for effective organization and handling
2. The quality or state of being capable of careful control or regulation
3. A characteristic that allows something to be effectively handled or directed

Etymology: Manageability is a plain construction: "manage" with the suffix "-ability," which turns an adjective like "manageable" into a noun meaning the quality of being manageable. The suffix itself has a long path. It descends from Latin "-abilitas," formed on "-abilis" (capable of being), and reached English through Middle French "-ablete" and Middle English "-ablete," before English took the "-ability" form widely. The "-able" element is what most people recognise, as in "readable" or "drinkable," and it is a productive English pattern, so new nouns like this one can be built on almost any verb. The verb "manage" has a more striking history. It comes from Italian "maneggiare," meaning to handle, especially to handle or train horses, and that in turn goes back to the Latin "manus," hand. Horse-training is the original sense: to manage a horse was to control its movements with the hands and reins. Over time the verb widened from physical handling to running affairs in general, so a word first tied to the stable came to describe organising a household, a business or a government.

Synonyms: controllability, handleability

Antonyms: unmanageability