'profitableness' originates from the Latin word 'profitabilis', where 'pro-' meant 'forward' and 'facere' meant 'to make or do'.

'profitabilis' transformed into the Old French word 'profitable', and eventually became the modern English word 'profitable', with 'profitableness' as a noun form.

Initially, it meant 'capable of yielding profit', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.