'splitability' originates from Modern English, formed by combining the verb 'split' with the suffix '-ability' (from Latin-derived 'ability'), where 'split' meant 'to divide' and '-ability' denotes 'the quality or capacity of'.

'split' came into English via Middle English (from forms such as 'splitten' or 'spletten'), influenced by Old Norse or Germanic sources (compare Old Norse 'splitta' or Middle Dutch 'splitten'); 'ability' comes from Old French 'abilite' and Latin 'habilitas'. The modern compound 'splitability' is a productive Modern English formation using the suffix '-ability'.

Originally, 'split' referred to the physical action 'to divide' and 'ability' referred to 'fitness or capacity'; combined in Modern English they yield the abstract noun meaning 'the capacity or property of being split'.