hability
(həˈbɪlɪtɪ)
Also 5–6 -te, 6–7 -tie.
[An early form of ability, after OF. habileté; in this, the h was rarely preserved after 1650; but in the 19th c. it has sometimes been restored in sense 2, which goes with habile and mod.F. habileté.]
† 1. Early spelling of ability, q.v. Obs.
| 1430–1678 [see ability]. 1723 State Russia II. 77 All their Hability consists in crying out with a loud Voice to the Idols. |
2. The quality of being habile; deftness; readiness; easy familiarity. [After mod.F. habileté.] rare.
| 1840 Fraser's Mag. XXII. 64 An hability of conduct which properly constitutes genius in war. 1889 J. M. Robertson Ess. towards Critical Method 73 Hability in or familiarity with a given style or form affects our appreciation of it. |