I think you're right about stability being a poor term here. The term as applied in this case is actually an implicit analogy. A "stable marriage", for exampl

I think you're right about stability being a poor term here. The term as applied in this case is actually an implicit analogy. A "stable marriage", for example, is conceptually stable in the same way a plane or car is physically stable. To then take that analogous usage form and re-apply it back to where the actual, original meaning makes more sense, is indeed confusing.