'cancellability' originates from the English verb 'cancel', ultimately from Latin 'cancellare', where 'cancella' meant 'lattice' or 'crossbars'.

'cancellability' developed via Late Latin and Old French forms of the verb (from Latin 'cancellare') into Middle English 'cancel' and then into the adjectival form 'cancellable' and the nominal derivative 'cancellability'.

Initially related to the idea of 'making like a lattice' or 'crossing out' (Latin usage), the sense shifted to 'to cross out or erase' and then to 'to annul or revoke'; 'cancellability' now denotes 'the property of being able to be cancelled'.