What’s the difference between probable and possible? Strictly speaking, they’re unrelated, but in popular usage, their distinction is merely one of degree.
Possible — the noun form is possibility — means “having the potential.” (Potential, along with the latter word’s root, potent, shares an etymological origin with the former word.) Possible stems from the Latin term possibilis, which derives in turn from posse, which means “power” or “to be able.” Posse itself was borrowed into English from the Medieval Latin phrase posse comitatus, which literally means “power of the county.”
(This term, later shortened to posse, referred to the authority of a local official to conscript men to respond to an emergency; such a deputized detail features in many works of filmed or printed fiction in the western genre, but now, the term is most commonly heard as a jocular slang synonym for a celebrity’s entourage or retinue or anyone’s group of friends.)
Probable, which means “likely,” comes from the Latin term probabilis, which itself stems from probare, meaning “to approve, prove, or test.” Related words referring to the first sense include approbation and probity; prove itself is akin to probable, as is probe. Probability is the term for the branch of mathematics dealing with chance and is used in logic to refer to the degree to which two statements confirm each other.
Probable refers to what is likely to be done, to occur, or to be true; possible refers to what can be done, to occur, or to be true. If you say something is probable, you are expressing more confidence about it than if you state that it is possible. But the distinction is significant: It is possible, for example, for anyone to become fabulously wealthy, but the probability is infinitely variable.
I find I don’t have the time or interest to read the parts of these posts that give the etymology of the words, even though I’m sure some readers find this helpful and interesting. The part that appeals to me is what is found in the final paragraph of this column, i.e., the difference in current usage. I hope that when both kinds of information are provided that they be clearly delineated so those of us who only want one can easily skip over the other. Thank you!
Yoiur last sentence, “It is possible, for example, for anyone to become fabulously wealthy, but the probability is infinitely variable.”. brought to mind my statistics teacher, who asked,
“What’s the probability that Beryl Sprinkel is male?”
We answered “Fifty/fifty, or 0.5, of course.”
Our teacher chuckled. “Wrong! Beryl Sprinkel is a friend of mine, and the answer is definitely EITHER 1.0 or 0.0”
Like Marion, I found the last paragraph most useful.
Infact I found the write-up useful
I googled these two words just to see if the difference was greater between the two. However, i see the word probable and possible as having the same meaning, could, might, able to happen/occur. while improbable to me means, not likely to happen/occur but could, and impossible to me, as meaning never can happen/occur under any circumstances. Folks the english language is hard enough to command, let’s not make it any more difficult than it already is?!
Thank you! I most appreciate the etymological origins. Very helpful, indeed!