Restrictability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality or condition of being capable of limitation or control; the attribute that allows the imposition of boundaries or constraints on something; the potential for something to be confined or regulated
2. The state of something being subject to restriction or limitation; the characteristic permitting the setting of limits or controls; the capacity for something to be narrowed or confined within certain parameters
3. The condition in which an entity can be limited or controlled; the property that enables constraints or boundaries to be applied; the capability of something to be restricted or regulated within defined limits

Etymology: "Restrict" comes from the Latin past participle "restrictus" of "restringere," built from "re-" and "stringere," meaning "to draw tight." That same Latin verb is the ancestor of "strict" and "stringent," so the image of pulling something taut sits behind every sense of confinement here. The rest of the word is a suffix chain. "-able" came into English through French from Latin "-abilis," marking capacity or susceptibility, and "-ity" comes from Latin "-itas," which turns an adjective into a noun for a quality. Stacking them onto "restrict" produces a noun for the state of being able to be restricted.

Synonyms: LIMITATION, CONSTRAINT, RESTRICTION, BOUND, CURB

Antonyms: freedom, liberty, expansion, extension, release