capability

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

capability
    n 1: the quality of being capable -- physically or
         intellectually or legally; "he worked to the limits of his
         capability" [syn: {capability}, {capableness}] [ant:
         {incapability}, {incapableness}]
    2: the susceptibility of something to a particular treatment;
       "the capability of a metal to be fused" [syn: {capability},
       {capacity}]
    3: an aptitude that may be developed [syn: {capability},
       {capableness}, {potentiality}] [ant: {incapability},
       {incapableness}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Capability \Ca`pa*bil"i*ty\, n.; pl. {Capabilities}.
   1. The quality of being capable; capacity; capableness; esp.
      intellectual power or ability.
      [1913 Webster]

            A capability to take a thousand views of a subject.
                                                  --H. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Capacity of being used or improved.
      [1913 Webster]

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)

capability

   <operating system, security> An {operating system} security or
   access control model where specific types of access to a
   specific object are granted by giving a process this data
   structure or {token}.

   The token may be unforgeable (typically by using {encryption}
   or hardware "tagged" memory).  Capabilities are used in OSes
   such as {Hydra}, {KeyKOS}, {EROS}, {Chorus}/{Mix}, and the
   {Stanford V system}.  Similar to {Kerberos}, but in an OS
   context.

   Compare {access control list}.

   (1998-03-08)

from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

114 Moby Thesaurus words for "capability":
      ability, ableness, address, adeptness, adequacy, adroitness,
      airmanship, aptitude, artfulness, artisanship, artistry, bravura,
      brilliance, bump, caliber, capableness, capacity, cleverness,
      command, competence, competency, condition, control, coordination,
      craft, craftsmanship, cunning, deftness, dexterity, dexterousness,
      dextrousness, diplomacy, dower, dowry, efficacy, efficiency,
      endowment, equipment, expertise, facility, faculty, finesse,
      fitness, fittedness, flair, forte, genius, gift, grace, grip,
      handiness, horsemanship, ingeniousness, ingenuity, instinct,
      know-how, long suit, makings, marksmanship, mastership, mastery,
      maturity, means, metier, natural endowment, natural gift, parts,
      potential, power, powers, practical ability, preparedness,
      proficiency, prowess, qualification, quickness, readiness,
      resource, resourcefulness, ripeness, savoir-faire, savvy,
      seamanship, seasoning, skill, skillfulness, speciality,
      strong flair, strong point, style, sufficiency, suitability,
      suitableness, suitedness, susceptibility, tact, tactfulness,
      talent, talents, technical brilliance, technical mastery,
      technical skill, technique, tempering, the goods, the stuff,
      timing, trim, virtuosity, what it takes, wherewithal, wit,
      wizardry, workmanship