sable

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See also: sablé

English[edit]

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Wikipedia

Alternative forms[edit]

  • sa., s. (in heraldic contexts)

Etymology[edit]

Attested since 1275, from Middle English, from Old French sable and martre sable (“sable martin”), in reference to the animal or its fur; from Middle Low German sabel (compare Middle Dutch sabel, Middle High German zobel); ultimately from an Old Slavonic or Baltic word (compare Russian соболь (sobolʹ), Polish soból, Czech sobol). Compare also Persian samōr.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

A sable (Martes zibellina)

sable (countable and uncountable, plural sables)

  1. A small carnivorous mammal of the Old World that resembles a weasel, Mustela zibellina, from cold regions in Eurasia and the North Pacific islands, valued for its dark brown fur (Wikipedia).
  2. The marten, especially Mustela americana.
  3. The fur or pelt of the sable or other species of martens; a coat made from this fur.
    • 1907, Robert Chambers, chapter 1/2, The Younger Set[1]:
      His sister, Mrs. Gerard, stood there in carriage gown and sables, radiant with surprise. “Phil! You! Exactly like you, Philip, to come strolling in from the antipodes—dear fellow!” recovering from the fraternal embrace and holding both lapels of his coat in her gloved hands.
    • 1928, Virginia Woolf, Orlando
      Lovers dallied upon divans spread with sables.
  4. An artist's brush made from the fur of the sable (Wikipedia).
  5. (heraldry) A black colour on a coat of arms.
  6. A black colour, resembling the fur of some sables.
    sable colour:    
  7. (in the plural, sables) Black garments worn in mourning.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Young
      Sables wove by destiny.

Translations[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Adjective[edit]

sable (comparative more sable, superlative most sable)

  1. Of the black colour sable.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Young
      Night, sable goddess! from her ebon throne, / In rayless majesty, now stretches forth / Her leaden sceptre o'er a slumbering world.
    • 2002, Christopher Paolini, Eragon, chapter 3
      They wound between the wagons to a tent removed from the rest of the traders'. It was crimson at the top and sable at the bottom, with thin triangles of colors stabbing into each other.
  2. (heraldry): In blazon, of the colour black.
  3. Made of sable fur.
  4. Dark, somber.
    • 1922, Michael Arlen, chapter 3/2/1, “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days[2]:
      She turned and waved a hand to him, she cried a word, but he didn't hear it, it was a lost word. A sable wraith she was in the parkland, fading away into the dolorous crypt of winter.

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  • Random House Dictionary, 2nd Edition, 1987.

Anagrams[edit]

Asturian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From French sable and this from Late Latin sablum, from Latin sabulum, alternative form of sabulō. Compare sablera. Compare Italian sabbia, Occitan sabla.

Noun[edit]

sable m (plural sables)

  1. sand

Etymology 2[edit]

From Spanish sable and this from French sabre, from German Säbel, from Hungarian szablya, cognate with Danish sabel, Russian сабля (sablja), Serbo-Croatian сабља.

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

sable m (plural sables)

  1. saber
  2. edge of a scythe

Basque[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

sable

  1. sabre, saber

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Late Latin sablum, from Latin sabulum, alternative form of sabulō. Compare sablon, which was used more often in Old French. Compare Italian sabbia, Occitan sabla.

Noun[edit]

sable m (plural sables)

  1. sand
Derived terms[edit]
Derived terms

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old French martre sable "sable marten", an animal. Possibly from an Old Slavonic word; compare with Russian соболь (sobolʹ).

Noun[edit]

sable m (plural sables)

  1. The heraldic colour sable; black.

Etymology 3[edit]

From sabler

Verb[edit]

sable

  1. first-person singular present indicative of sabler
  2. third-person singular present indicative of sabler
  3. first-person singular present subjunctive of sabler
  4. first-person singular present subjunctive of sabler
  5. second-person singular imperative of sabler

Anagrams[edit]

Old French[edit]

Noun[edit]

sable m (oblique plural sables, nominative singular sables, nominative plural sable)

  1. sable (fur of a sable)

Spanish[edit]

Noun[edit]

sable m (plural sables)

  1. saber, cutlass
  2. (fencing) saber

Derived terms[edit]

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