Noun

(en noun)

The work involved in performing an activity; exertion.

* , chapter=23

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=The slightest effort made the patient cough. He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking.}}

* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=June 22, author=Press Association, work=The Guardian

, title= Manchester United offer Park Ji-sung a new two-year contract , passage=The 30-year-old South Korean, who joined United in 2005, retired from international duty after last season's Asian Cup in an effort to prolong his club}}

* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)

, title= Geothermal Energy , volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame.}}

An endeavour.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03, author=William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter

, volume=100, issue=2, page=87, magazine=(American Scientist) , title= The British Longitude Act Reconsidered , passage=But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea.}}

A force acting on a body in the direction of its motion.

(Rankine)

Noun

(obsolete) Suitableness.

(uncountable) The quality or state of being able; capacity to do; capacity of doing something; having the necessary power.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=(Peter Wilby)

, volume=189, issue=6, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title=[http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/jul/01/education-michael-gove-finland-gcse Finland spreads word on schools] , passage=Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. Charging school fees is illegal, and so is sorting pupils into ability groups by streaming or setting.}}

The legal wherewithal to act.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)

, title=[http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21579860-g8-pledges-tackle-three-ts-t-time T time] , passage=The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them, which is then licensed to related businesses in high-tax countries, is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies.}}

(archaic) Financial ability.

(uncountable) A unique power of the mind; a faculty.

* (rfdate) (Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)

Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study -

(countable) A skill or competence in doing; mental power; talent; aptitude.

* (rfdate) (King James Bible) , (w) 11:29

Then the disciples, every man according to his ability , determined to send relief unto the brethren.

* (rfdate) (1800-1859)

The public men of England, with much of a peculiar kind of ability

* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 10, author=Jeremy Wilson, work=Telegraph

, title=[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/8882713/England-Under-21-5-Iceland-Under-21-0-match-report.html England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report] , passage=The most persistent tormentor was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who scored a hat-trick in last month’s corresponding fixture in Iceland. His ability to run at defences is instantly striking, but it is his clever use of possession that has persuaded some shrewd judges that he is an even better prospect than Theo Walcott.}}