sable
English
Alternative forms
- sa., s. (in heraldic contexts)
Etymology
Attested since 1275, from Middle English, from Old French sable and martre sable (“sable martin”), in reference to the animal or its fur; from Medieval Latin sabelum, from Middle Low German sabel (compare Middle Dutch sabel, Middle High German zobel); ultimately from a Balto-Slavic word (compare Russian со́боль (sóbolʹ), Polish soból, Czech sobol). Compare also Middle Persian smwl (*samōr).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈseɪbəl/, /ˈseɪbɫ/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪbəl
Noun
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sable (countable and uncountable, plural sables)
- (countable) A small carnivorous mammal of the Old World that resembles a weasel, Martes zibellina, from cold regions in Eurasia and the North Pacific islands, valued for its dark brown fur (Wikipedia).
- (countable) The marten, especially Martes americana (syn. Mustela americana).
- (countable and uncountable) The fur or pelt of the sable or other species of martens; a coat made from this fur.
- 1928, Virginia Woolf, Orlando
- Lovers dallied upon divans spread with sables.
- 1928, Virginia Woolf, Orlando
- (countable) An artist's brush made from the fur of the sable (Wikipedia).
- (heraldry) A black colour on a coat of arms (Wikipedia).
- (countable and uncountable) A dark brown colour, resembling the fur of some sables.
- sable colour:
- (in the plural, sables) Black garments, especially worn in mourning.
- (Can we date this quote?) Young
- Sables wove by destiny.
- 1907, Robert William Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 24962326:
- […] a delighted shout from the children swung him toward the door again. 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.
- (Can we date this quote?) Young
Derived terms
- sable antelope
- sablefish
- sable iron
- sable mouse
Related terms
Translations
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Adjective
sable (comparative more sable, superlative most sable)
- Of the black colour sable.
- 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 12:
- When I behold the violet past prime,
- And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white
- 1742, Edward Young, The Complaint: or Night-Thoughts on Life, Death & Immortality, Night I
- 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.
- 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 12:
- (heraldry): In blazon, of the colour black.
- Made of sable fur.
- Dark, somber.
- 1922, Michael Arlen, “3/2/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
- 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.
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Translations
See also
- Appendix:Colors
References
- Random House Dictionary, 2nd Edition, 1987.
Asturian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsa.βle/
Etymology 1
From French sable and this from Late Latin sablum, from Latin sabulum, alternative form of sabulō. Compare sablera. Compare Italian sabbia, Occitan sabla.
Catalan
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sɑbl/
audio (France) (file) - (Quebec) IPA(key): [sɑɔ̯bl]
audio (Quebec) (file) - (Louisiana) IPA(key): [sab]
Etymology 1
From Old French, from Vulgar Latin or 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.
Derived terms
- bac à sable
- être le grain dans la mécanique
- sable mouvant
- sablage
- sabler
- sableur
Etymology 2
From Old French martre sable (“sable marten”), an animal. From Middle Low German sabel (compare Middle Dutch sabel, Middle High German zobel); ultimately from a Balto-Slavic word (compare Russian со́боль (sóbolʹ), Polish soból, Czech sobol). Compare also Persian سمور (samur).
Etymology 3
From sabler
Verb
sable
Further reading
- “sable” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Galician
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Etymology
14th century. From older savel, from *sabŏlos, from Proto-Celtic *samos (“summer”). Cognate with Portuguese sável and Spanish sábalo.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsaβle̝̝/
Noun
sable f (plural sables)
- allis shad
- 1319, Ermelindo Portela Silva (ed.), La región del obispado de Tuy en los siglos XII a XV. Una sociedad en expansión y en la crisis. Santiago: Tip. El Eco Franciscano, page 393:
- vos que ayades esa renda da dizima dos savees e do pescado que y sayr en vossa vida e despos vosa morte que fique a nos o dito arynno
- you should have this rent of a tenth of the shads and of the fish that is captured there, in your life, and after your death this sand island should return to us
- vos que ayades esa renda da dizima dos savees e do pescado que y sayr en vossa vida e despos vosa morte que fique a nos o dito arynno
- 1319, Ermelindo Portela Silva (ed.), La región del obispado de Tuy en los siglos XII a XV. Una sociedad en expansión y en la crisis. Santiago: Tip. El Eco Franciscano, page 393:
References
- “savees” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006-2016.
- “sable” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
- “sable” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
- “sábel” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.
- Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1991–1997). Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico. Madrid: Gredos, s.v. sábalo.
Old French
Spanish
Derived terms
- diente de sable