'allocatability' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'allocare', where the prefix 'ad-' (in the form 'al-') meant 'to/toward' and 'locare' meant 'to place'; the modern English formation adds the suffix '-ability' to indicate a quality or capability.

'allocatability' changed from the Latin/Medieval-Latin root 'allocare' and the English verb 'allocate' (borrowed via Medieval Latin/Old French), and eventually became the modern English noun formed as 'allocate' + '-ability' -> 'allocatability'.

Initially the root conveyed the basic sense 'to place' or 'to assign'; over time, with English derivational morphology, it evolved into the abstract noun meaning 'the quality of being able to be allocated.'