Renewability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The property of certain resources to be restored or regenerated over time
2. The ability for elements to be reused or restored without depletion
3. The quality of a resource that allows it to naturally restore or regenerate after use

Etymology: "Renewability" is a plain English formation: "renew" with the suffix "-ability" attached. The suffix is the part with the longer journey. It descends from Latin "-abilitas," built on "-bilis" (meaning "able to be" or "capable of") with the "-ābilis" form used after verb stems ending in "-ā-". The Latin suffix passed into Middle French as "-ableté" and entered Middle English as "-ablete" before settling into the modern "-ability." The verb "renew" has its own ancient roots. It combines "re-" (again) with "new," which traces back to a common Germanic and Indo-European ancestry. So the word as a whole is a blend of a native English stem and a Latin-derived suffix, a pairing typical of many English abstract nouns.

Synonyms: sustainability, recyclability