Valuability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality or state of possessing worth or importance; the degree to which something is useful or beneficial; the characteristic of having monetary or intrinsic value
2. The condition of being valuable or significant; the extent to which an item or idea is advantageous or prized; the measure of an object’s financial or personal merit
3. The attribute of having great worth or usefulness; the assessment of how beneficial or treasured something is considered; the evaluation of an entity’s economic or sentimental worth

Etymology: "Valuability" is a plain English construction: the adjective "valuable" with the abstract-noun suffix "-ity," which turns a quality into a thing that can be measured or discussed. The suffix comes from Latin "-itas" through Old French "-ité," and it has been attached to English adjectives for centuries, so "valuable" becomes "valuability" in the same way "usable" becomes "usability." The base word "valuable" itself comes from "value," borrowed from Old French, where the verb "valoir" meant "to be worth," ultimately from Latin "valere," "to be strong, be of worth." So the core idea, that a thing is strong or sturdy enough to matter, sits underneath every sense of the word, from market price to personal importance.

Synonyms: worth, value, importance, usefulness, merit

Antonyms: worthlessness, insignificance, uselessness, triviality, futility