'distractibility' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'distrahere', where 'dis-' meant 'apart' and 'trahere' meant 'to pull'.

'distractibility' derives from Late Latin 'distractus' (past participle of 'distrahere'), passed into Old French (forms such as 'distrait') and Middle English as 'distract', and later formed in English with the adjective/ability suffixes to yield 'distractible' and 'distractibility'.

Initially it meant 'to pull apart' (a physical pulling in different directions); over time it shifted to 'to divert (the mind or attention)', and in modern use the noun refers to the susceptibility to being so diverted ('susceptibility to distraction').