stability (English)
Where does "stability" come from?
The word stability traces back to the Latin term stabilis, meaning 'steadfast' or 'firm.' It traveled through Old French as stabilité before entering Middle English as stabletee, eventually displacing the original Old English word staþolfæstnes to describe the quality of being resistant to change.
Full etymology tree
- stability (English), 'The condition of being stable or in equilibrium, and thus resistant to change.'
- inherited stabilite (Middle English)
- borrowed stabilité (Old French), 'alternative form of estabilité'
- inherited stabilitās (Latin), 'stability, steadiness, immovability'
- derived stabilis (Latin), 'That stands firm; firm, steadfast, steady, sure, stable, stationary.'
- derived stō (Latin), 'to stand'
- suffix -bilis (Latin), '-(a)ble; used to form an adjective, usually from a verb, indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon.'
- suffix -tās (Latin), '-ty, -dom, -hood, -ness, -ship; Used to form feminine abstract nouns indicating a state of being.'
- derived stabilis (Latin), 'That stands firm; firm, steadfast, steady, sure, stable, stationary.'
- inherited stabilitās (Latin), 'stability, steadiness, immovability'
- borrowed stabilité (Old French), 'alternative form of estabilité'
- inherited stabilite (Middle English)
Direct ancestors
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris