Question from a Reader

A reader asks; Why do some people use the word “comfortability” when they can just use “comfort?” Do they mean different things?

This is an example of something we encounter frequently: how we make nouns from adjectives and vice versa.  The rule seems to be: make the word as short as possible. If the adjective came from a noun, and you want a noun, just go back to the noun from which the adjective came in the first place.

Some of these are obvious, like comfortability, which, while it is a word in the dictionary, shouldn’t be used, IMO.  Other obvious examples are beauty rather than beautifulness, courtesy rather than courteousness, and candor rather than candidness.  

Some are more subtle, e.g.,  grace rather than graciousness.