Commensurability

Commensurability (or commensurableness) is an abstract noun, the adjectival form of which is commensurable, and apart from being easier to pronounce, it is easier to define. In defining a concept, the essence or the qualities of the concept are described, that is, saying what makes it what it is and not something else. To say that some things are commensurable is another way of saying that they are capable of being measured by the same standard of values or that they have a common measure.

The meaning of commensurability may be illustrated by showing how the word is used in everyday speech; for example, concepts such as equity and justice and matter and gravity are commensurable because they can be measured by the same set ...