Transportability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The attribute that allows an item to be easily moved from one location to another encompasses both ease of relocation and practical adaptability
2. The feature that signifies how well something can be transferred between different places includes notions of convenience and flexibility in movement
3. The quality that measures how easily an object can be moved from one site to another involves considerations of mobility and suitability for various contexts

Etymology: Transportability is a plain, transparent formation: the noun "transport" with the suffix "-ability", meaning "capable of being." The verb "transport" came into English in the Middle English period, borrowed through Old French "transporter" from Latin "transportare," which combined "trans-" ("across") with "portare" ("to carry"). So the word's core idea is carrying something across from one place to another, and the whole sense of "can be carried across" is built into its parts. The suffix has a longer history of its own. "-ability" descends from Latin "-abilitas," formed from "-abilis," a suffix meaning "able to be" that was attached to verbs, and it reached English through Middle French "-able" and the abstract noun ending "-ability." Adding it to "transport" turns the verb's action into a quality an object can possess, so the word describes a property rather than an activity.

Synonyms: mobility, portability