Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Capability \Ca`pa*bil"i*ty\, n.; pl. {Capabilities}.
   1. The quality of being capable; capacity; capableness; esp.
      intellectual power or ability.

            A capability to take a thousand views of a subject.
                                                  --H. Taylor.

   2. Capacity of being used or improved.

Source : WordNet®

capability
     n 1: the quality of being capable -- physically or intellectually
          or legally; "he worked to the limits of his capability"
          [syn: {capableness}] [ant: {incapability}, {incapability}]
     2: the susceptibility of something to a particular treatment;
        "the capability of a metal to be fused" [syn: {capacity}]
     3: an aptitude that may be developed [syn: {capableness}, {potentiality}]
        [ant: {incapability}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

capability
     
         An {operating system} security or
        access control model where specific types of access to a
        specific object are granted by giving a process this data
        structure or {token}.
     
        The token may be unforgeable (typically by using {encryption}
        or hardware "tagged" memory).  Capabilities are used in OSes
        such as {Hydra}, {KeyKOS}, {EROS}, {Chorus}/{Mix}, and the
        {Stanford V system}.  Similar to {Kerberos}, but in an OS
        context.
     
        Compare {access control list}.
     
        (1998-03-08)