Countability

/ˌkaʊntəˈbɪləti/ noun

Definition

The quality or property of being able to be counted or enumerated; in mathematics and linguistics, the characteristic of items that can be individually distinguished and tallied.

Etymology

Derived from 'countable' (able to be counted) plus the suffix '-ity' (a state or quality). 'Count' comes from Old French 'conter' and Latin 'computare' (to calculate).

Kelly Says

In linguistics, countability is why you can say 'three cats' but not 'three liquids'—it's a hidden rule in every language that separates countable nouns (things you count) from mass nouns (things you measure)!

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