volatility

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the tendency of a price, market, or other quantity to change sharply and unpredictably

   Currency volatility made it difficult for the company to forecast costs.

2. 2
   noun

   the tendency of a person, mood, or situation to change suddenly or become explosive

   The mediator was concerned by the volatility of the crowd.

3. 3
   noun

   the physical property of evaporating readily at ordinary temperatures

   The solvent's high volatility requires a tightly sealed container.

From volatile + -ity. Volatile comes from Latin volatilis ('flying, fleeting'), from volare ('to fly'). It was applied to substances that readily 'fly off' as vapor; that physical instability was extended to sudden changes in prices, situations, moods, and behavior.

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