provability
|pro-va-bi-li-ty|
🇺🇸
/ˌproʊvəˈbɪlɪti/
🇬🇧
/ˌprəʊvəˈbɪlɪti/
capability of being proved
Etymology
'provability' originates from English, formed by the adjective 'provable' plus the noun-forming suffix '-ity'. 'Provable' itself comes from Old French 'prover' (to test, prove) and ultimately from Latin 'probare', where 'pro-' is not a separable prefix here and 'probare' meant 'to test, prove'.
'provability' changed from the adjective 'provable' (Middle English/Modern English) formed from Old French 'prover' (and medieval Latin forms from Latin 'probare'), and eventually became the modern English noun 'provability' by adding the suffix '-ity' to indicate the quality or state.
Initially, the root 'probare' meant 'to test or prove' in Latin; over time, English derivatives shifted from actions ('to prove') to adjectives ('provable') and then to the abstract noun 'provability', meaning 'the capability or condition of being proved'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the quality or state of being provable; the condition of something that can be shown to be true or demonstrated.
The provability of his claim depends on the available evidence.
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Noun 2
in logic and mathematics, the property of a statement being derivable within a formal system or of being provable from given axioms and inference rules.
In mathematical logic, provability is formalized by a provability predicate that captures which formulas are derivable in a system.
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Last updated: 2025/12/25 00:01