different between capacity vs possibility

English

Etymology

From Middle English capacite, from Old French capacite, from Latin cap?cit?s, from capax (“able to hold much”), from capi? (“to hold, to contain, to take, to understand”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??pæs?ti/

Noun

capacity (countable and uncountable, plural capacities)

1. The ability to hold, receive or absorb
2. A measure of such ability; volume
3. The maximum amount that can be held

   It was hauling a capacity load.

   The orchestra played to a capacity crowd.

4. Capability; the ability to perform some task
5. The maximum that can be produced.
6. Mental ability; the power to learn
7. A faculty; the potential for growth and development
8. A role; the position in which one functions
9. Legal authority (to make an arrest for example)
10. Electrical capacitance.
11. (operations) The maximum that can be produced on a machine or in a facility or group.

    Its capacity rating was 150 tons per hour, but its actual maximum capacity was 200 tons per hour.

Synonyms

• throughput
• See also Thesaurus:skill

Derived terms

• capac
• capacitance
• capacitate
• capacitive
• capacitation
• capacitor

Translations

References

• capacity at OneLook Dictionary Search

Adjective

capacity

1. Filling the allotted space.

   There will be a capacity crowd at Busch stadium for the sixth game.

   • 2012, August 1. Owen Gibson in Guardian Unlimited, London 2012: rowers Glover and Stanning win Team GB's first gold medal

     At an overcast Eton Dorney, roared on by a capacity crowd including Prince Harry and Prince William, the volume rose as they entered the final stages.

Related terms

• capacious

Further reading

• capacity in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• capacity in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• capacity at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Etymology

From Middle French possibilité, from Old French possibilite, from Late Latin possibilit?s (“possibility”), from Latin possibilis (“possible”); see possible.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?p?s??b?liti/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p?s??b?liti/
• Hyphenation: pos?si?bil?i?ty
• Rhymes: -?l?ti

Noun

possibility (countable and uncountable, plural possibilities)

1. The quality of being possible.
2. A thing possible; that which may take place or come into being.
3. An option or choice, usually used in context with future events.

Synonyms

• (the quality of being possible):
• (a thing possible): contingency; See also Thesaurus:possibility
• (an option or choice): choice, option; See also Thesaurus:option

Antonyms

• impossibility; See also Thesaurus:impossibility

Derived terms

• logical possibility
• possibility theory

Related terms

• impossibility
• possible
• potence
• potency
• potent
• potentate
• potential
• potentiality
• power

Translations

Further reading

• possibility in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• possibility in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.