sustainabilityn.
/səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlᵻti/, U.S. /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlᵻdi/ 1. The quality of being sustainable by argument; the capacity to be upheld or defended as valid, correct, or true.
ΚΠ
1835 J. Chitty Pract. of Law III. i. ii. 84 Leading counsel states..the nature of the plaintiff's case, and sometimes the anticipated defence, and argues upon the sustainability of the former, and the futility and injustice of the latter.
1854 T. Smith Parish 268 Instead, therefore, of his supporting the general assumption..Prideaux actually excludes its sustainability.
1947 Virginia Law Rev. 33 3 The provision of the contract..did not apply to the determination of the sustainability of an attack by a trustee.
2005 Sunday Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 24 July 17 The question..remains about the sustainability of such a position.
2.
a. The quality of being sustainable at a certain rate or level.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > maintaining state or condition > [noun] > capability for
sustainability1953
1953 Land Econ. 29 61/2 Particularly with the relevance to resource development, the idea of balance usually implies sustainability over the long run.
1955 Jrnl. Business 28 221/1 Whether the present confidence in the sustainability of economic growth will prove to be justified by the actual performance of the economy over the next decade is impossible to predict.
1972 T. Sowell Say's Law iii. 100 An increase beyond limits of sustainability existing at any given time would lead only to reduced earnings and subsequent contraction of the quantity supplied.
1990 N. Baker Room Temperature xi. 91 A shorthand indicator of how bleak or upbeat I felt about the sustainability of my career outside of technical writing.
2007 Daily Tel. 23 Aug. (Business section) 8/1 The decision to rebase the dividend higher..is a vote of confidence in the sustainability of the commodities supercycle.
b. spec. The property of being environmentally sustainable; the degree to which a process or enterprise is able to be maintained or continued while avoiding the long-term depletion of natural resources.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > [adjective] > safe or not dangerous > safe or harmless > to the environment
environmentalist1968
environmentally sound1969
environmentally friendly1971
friendly1971
low-impact1972
sustainable1976
environmental1977
environmental friendly1977
sustainability1980
eco-sensitive1982
environment-friendly1982
nature-friendly1984
ozone-friendly1988
earth-friendly1989
eco-friendly1989
1980 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts July 495/2 Sustainability in the management of both individual wild species and ecosystems..is critical to human welfare.
1992 Oxfordshire Bull. Nov. 1/1 This country is now pledged to move towards sustainability; that is, to conserve resources, to curb pollution, and to achieve the better balance between demand and supply that will protect the environment not only for us, but for our descendants.
2005 Guardian 15 Nov. (Educ. section) 10/3 The University of Bradford..will be promoting sustainability in everything from course content to student housing.
2010 N.Y. Mag. 28 June 48/3 Stringent conservation measures, including a minimum size and maximum size of keepable lobsters, have made the Maine-lobster fishery a rare story of successful sustainability.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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