The quality or state of being capable of being changed or modified.
From alterable (able to be altered) plus -ness (suffix forming abstract nouns). Alterable comes from Latin alterare meaning 'to change,' derived from alter meaning 'other.' The -ness suffix dates to Old English and creates nouns describing qualities or states.
This word perfectly captures the medieval philosophical concept of mutability—the idea that unlike perfect, unchanging divine beings, earthly things could be different. It's why alchemists obsessed over 'alterableness' when trying to transform base metals into gold!
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