capability

Formed in Modern English as capable +‎ -ity.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌkeɪ.pəˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌkeɪ.pəˈbɪl.ə.ti/, IPA^(key): [ˌkeɪ.pəˈbɪl.ə.t̬i]
• Hyphenation: ca‧pa‧bil‧i‧ty
• Rhymes: -ɪlɪti

capability (countable and uncountable, plural capabilities)

1. the power or ability to generate an outcome
2. (computing) A digital token allowing a user or process to interact in a specified way with an object that is subject to access control. [from 1960s]
   • 1987 November, Richard Y. Kain; Carl E. Landwehr, “On Access Checking in Capability-Based Systems”, in IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering‎, volume SE-13, number 2, pages 202-207:

     Enforcing a security policy means controlling the rights users can acquire to data. In a capability machine, a user’s rights are defined by the capabilities he (or a process acting on his behalf) can obtain and the access rights conferred by those capabilities.

• See also Thesaurus:skill

• limited-capability
• negative capability

• capable (adjective)

• capability on Wikipedia.Wikipedia