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Post by Somak Meitei on May 30, 2014 21:47:59 GMT 5.5
Hi,
I bring a thread to this reliable and prolific forum about the proper uses of two words: 'probability' and 'possibility', that seem synonymous to my sensibility, but I heard a saying from a master of English that two words cannot be synonymous so this whirls my mind but can not elicit an excellent response from myself.What I have in my mind about these two words is nothing but their proper uses. Sorry for my threat without a context.
Thank you a lot in advance
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Post by Thoithoi O'Cottage on May 30, 2014 23:28:33 GMT 5.5
Probability (noun of probable) is (a) the state of being likely to happen, to exist or to be true Example: They saw high probability of a BJP return. Now their suspicion turns out right. (b) a thing that is likely to happen Example: A fetal step was a very strong probability in the enemy forest of a minefield. The word used in mathematics may help us get a better sense of it. In mathematics “probability” is “a ratio showing the chances that a particular thing will happen” ( www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/probability). Example: There is a 60% probability that the population will be infected with the disease. [There is a 40% probability of not being infected.]
Possibility (noun of possible) is (among other meanings): (a) something that can be done or achieved Example: The idiom “man in the moon” appeared first when a trip to the moon was not yet possible. Now there is no question about the possibility of man on the moon. Probable things are all possible, though they may not happen. Consider the following examples: (a) The rains and hails are (naturally) possible anytime throughout the year here, but it will not probably rain tomorrow. [=Though it may not rain tomorrow, the rains and hails are always possible throughout the year here.]
(b) It is now possible to destroy human civilization with our nuclear weapons. If the tension between world powers continues to build at this rate, the destruction of the world now seems a probability rather than just a possibility.
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Post by Thoithoi O'Cottage on May 30, 2014 23:52:56 GMT 5.5
This example also shows the difference between possible and probable: It can't be possible that you saw turtles flying with the herons. Turtles cannot fly. Probably, the herons were taking the turtles with them, holding them with their feet. (As in a fairytale) |
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Post by Thoithoi O'Cottage on May 31, 2014 7:05:22 GMT 5.5
Among the synonyms (no two words in a language are perfectly synonymous) of "possible" are achievable, attainable, doable, feasible, practicable, realizable, viable, workable.
Its antonyms include hopeless, impossible, impracticable, infeasible, nonviable, unattainable, undoable, unfeasible, unreaalizable, unviable, unworkable.
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Post by Thoithoi O'Cottage on May 31, 2014 13:11:03 GMT 5.5
"Probable" (first used in 1606) derived from Latin "probabilis" from "probare", meaning to test, prove, approve.
"Probable" shares the Latin root "probare" with "prove" (13th century), "approve" (14th century), "probation" (15th century), and "probe"(1580).
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Post by Thoithoi O'Cottage on May 31, 2014 13:25:08 GMT 5.5
"Possible" (first used in the 14th c.) derived from Latin "possibilis" from "posse" (potis, pote, meaning "to be able" + esse, meaning "to be" ).
"Possible", thus, etymologically/originally meant "to be able to be", "capable of obtainting". There is still this sense lingering in the word's meaning.
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Post by Thoithoi O'Cottage on Jun 1, 2014 0:06:00 GMT 5.5
Probable = oiramba yaba, thoklamba yaba, thoklaba yaba, oiraba yaba Possible = oithokpa yaba (=oithoktaba nattaba) [Example: Ucheckna leinungda pai yapot natteko. Atiyada, nungsitta paibani ucheckti.] Example: It is now possible for man to go to the moon. Anybody (whether an astronaut or not) can go with a special arrangement. Denis Tito's space trip was something like that. However, I won't probably go to the moon ever in this life [=Ei chatladou mande/chatlani thajade]. To me this idea does not have any charm, and I don't want to spend that much of fund into that luxury. I will have no contribution to make in that field. I know nothing about it, and that would be a sheer waste of resources.
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