different between countability vs countable

English

Etymology

count +? -ability

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka?nt.??b?.l?.ti/

Noun

countability (uncountable)

1. The quality of being countable.

Antonyms

• uncountability

Translations

English

Etymology

From Middle English countable, equivalent to count (“to enumerate”) +? -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ka?nt?b?l/
  • (US) IPA^(key): [?k?a?n(?)?b??]

Adjective

countable (not comparable)

1. Capable of being counted; having a quantity.

   Antonym: uncountable

2. (mathematics, of a set) Finite or countably infinite; having a one-to-one correspondence (bijection) with a subset of the natural numbers.

   Antonym: uncountable

3. (mathematics, of a set) Countably infinite; having a bijection with the natural numbers.

   Synonym: denumerable

4. (grammar, of a noun) Freely usable with the indefinite article and with numbers, and therefore having a plural form.

   Antonym: uncountable

Usage notes

The mathematics sense by which finite sets are countable is more common than the sense by which finite sets are not countable. To avoid ambiguity, the terms at most countable or countably infinite may be used.

Antonyms

• non-denumerable
• uncountable

Hypernyms

• (countably infinite): infinite

Hyponyms

• (having a bijection with a subset of the natural numbers): finite, countably infinite

Derived terms

• countable set
• countable additivity

Related terms

• countability

Translations

See also

• mass noun
• plurale tantum
• denumerability