Mobility

Mobility

Noun · /məʊˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/

Definition

The ability to move or be moved freely and easily; social mobility — the ability to move between different levels of social class or economic status; physical mobility — the ability to move one's body or to travel; in computing and technology, mobile accessibility and functionality.

Origin

From Old French mobilité, from Latin mobilitas (movability, fickleness, changeability), from mobilis (movable, mobile, from movere, to move). The same movere root gives motion, movement, motor, emotion (originally a moving of feelings), commotion, promotion, remote (moved far away), and mob (from mobile vulgus). Mobility in the sense of social mobility — the ability to change one's social or economic position — is a concept of particular importance in sociology and political economy, discussed in terms of upward mobility, downward mobility, and intergenerational mobility.