Viability

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌvaɪəˈbɪlɪti/

Definitions

1. The capability of an entity to thrive or function effectively within particular environments is essential across multiple disciplines
2. The potential of a system or idea to prove sustainable or practical in defined situations is vital in many sectors
3. The ability of an organism, plan, or project to survive and succeed in a specific context is crucial in various fields

Etymology: Viability is a plain English construction: "viable" with the suffix "-ity" attached. The suffix has a longer ancestry, descending from Latin "-itas" (the abstract-noun ending that gave us words like "ability" and "quality"). It reached English through Old French "-ite" and Middle English "-ite" before settling into the modern "-ity" form. The adjective "viable" is the more interesting half. It comes from French "viable," meaning able to live, and ultimately from the Latin "vita," life, so a viable thing is one that is alive enough to continue. Its earliest English sense was therefore biological, describing an infant or embryo capable of surviving outside the womb, and the wider sense of a plan or business that can succeed only came later, as the idea of "living" was stretched to cover projects and systems. Viability, then, is the quality of being capable of sustained life, applied figuratively to anything that can keep going.

Synonyms: feasibility, practicality, workability, sustainability, functionality

Antonyms: impossibility, unfeasibility, infeasibility, ineffectiveness, unworkability