eligibility

/ɛlɪdʒəˈbɪlɪɾi/

/ɛlɪdʒəˈbɪlɪti/

Other forms: eligibilities

If you're qualified for something or allowed to take part in it, you have eligibility. Having a valid driver's license means you have the eligibility to drive a car.

The noun eligibility is good for describing the state of being qualified for or worthy of something. You might have the eligibility to take an upper level computer class, but not have the eligibility to take advanced Arabic, for example. Eligibility comes from the adjective eligible, which comes from the Middle French, meaning "fit to be chosen." The Latin root word is eligere, "choose."

Definitions of eligibility

1. noun

   the quality or state of being eligible
   “eligibility of a candidate for office”

   “eligibility for a loan”

   antonyms:

   ineligibility

   the quality or state of being ineligible

   types:

   insurability

   the quality of being insurable; the conditions under which an insurance company will issue insurance to an applicant (based on standards set by the insurance company)

   marriageability

   eligibility for marriage

   type of:

   making, qualification

   an attribute that must be met or complied with and that fits a person for something