fable
Syllables: fa·ble/ˈfeɪbəl/
fable noun: a fictitious narrative intended to enforce some useful truth or precept, usually with animals, etc. as characters; an apologue. Prototypically, Aesop's Fables.
Noun
fable (plural fables)
- A fictitious narrative intended to enforce some useful truth or precept, usually with animals, etc. as characters; an apologue. Prototypically, Aesop's Fables.
- Synonyms:
- morality play
- Any story told to excite wonder; common talk; the theme of talk.
- But refuſe prophane and olde wiues fables, and exerciſe thy ſelfe rather vnto godlineſſe.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Timothy 4:7, column 1
- […]we grew / The fable of the city where we dwelt.1842, Alfred Tennyson, “The Gardener’s Daughter; or, The Pictures”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 19
- Synonyms:
- legend
- Fiction; untruth; falsehood.
- I say it would look like a fable to report that this gentleman gives away all which is the overplus of a great fortune by secret methods to other men.1712 January 12 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “TUESDAY, January 2, 1711–1712”, in The Spectator, number 264; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator...
- The plot, story, or connected series of events forming the subject of an epic or dramatic poem.
- For the moral (as Bossu observes,) is the first business of the poet, as being the groundwork of his instruction. This being formed, he contrives such a design, or fable, as may be most suitable to the moral;1695, John Dryden, A Parallel betwixt Painting and Poetry
Verb
fable (third-person singular simple present fables, present participle fabling, simple past and past participle fabled)
- To compose fables; hence, to write or speak fiction; to write or utter what is not true.
- He Fables not, I heare the enemie: / Out ſome light Horſemen, and peruſe their Wings.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- Vain now the Tales which fab’ling Poets tell, / That wav’ring Conqueſt ſtill deſires to rove; / In Marlbrô’s Camp the Goddeſs knows to dwell: / Long as the Hero’s Life remains her Love.1709, Mat[thew] Prior, “An Ode, Humbly Inscrib’d to the Queen”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, stanza XVII, page 287
- To make up; to devise, and speak of, as true or real; to tell of falsely; to recount in the form of a fable.
- […] erre not that ſo ſhall end / The ſtrife of Glorie: which we mean to win, / Or turn this Heav’n itſelf into the Hell / Thou fableſt […]1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- THE Poets Fable, That Apollo being enamoured of Caſſandra, was by her many ſhifts and cunning ſlights ſtill deluded in his Deſire […]1691, “Cassandra, or, Divination”, in Arthur Gorges, transl., The Wisdom of the Ancients, London, translation of [De Sapientia Veterum] by Francis Bacon, page 1
fable meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
fable in Hindi
- fictitious narration to enforce some useful truth or precept
- नीतिकथा nītikthā, फ़साना fasānā
fable in Tamil
- நீதிக்கதை, கட்டுக்கதை
fable in Urdu
- fictitious narration to enforce some useful truth or precept
- فَسانَہ fasāna, حِکایَت hikāyat
fable in Bengali
- fictitious narration to enforce some useful truth or precept
- রূপকথা rupkotha, উপকথা upokotha
More languagesFewer languages
- fable in Telugu
- పిట్టికత piṭṭikata
- fable in Malayalam
- കെട്ടുകഥ, നാടോടിക്കഥ, കല്പിതകഥ, യക്ഷിക്കഥ
- fable in Kannada
- ಕಥೆ kathe
- fable in Pashto
- افسانه afsāna, حکايت hekāyat
- fable in Tagalog
- pabula, sayguni
- fable in Arabic
- خُرَافَة ḵurāfa, أُسْطُورَة ʔusṭūra
- fable in Indonesian
- fabel
- fable in Thai
- ตำนาน dtam-naan
- fable in Vietnamese
- ngụ ngôn
- fable in Myanmar
- ပုံပြင် pumprang, ရှေးစကား hre:ca.ka:
Examples of fable in a sentence
- In the fable, the maiden had to find a catskin coat, a coat made of catskins.
- Fables are handed down from age to age.
- This fable is a capsulization of a certain moral philosophy.
Synonyms of fable
Forms of fable
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | fables |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | fables |
| present participle | fabling |
| past participle | fabled |
| past | fabled |
Origin of fable
From Middle English, borrowed from Old French fable, from Latin fābula, from fārī (“to speak, say”) + -bula (“instrumental suffix”). See ban, and compare fabulous, fame. Doublet of fabula.
Words formed from fable
Phrases with fable
Words that rhyme with fable
16 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about fable
- What does fable mean?
- Fable means a fictitious narrative intended to enforce some useful truth or precept, usually with animals, etc. as characters; an apologue. Prototypically, Aesop's Fables.
- What is fable in Hindi?
- Fable in Hindi is नीतिकथा (nītikthā), फ़साना (fasānā). See Fable meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is fable?
- Fable can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce fable?
- Fable is pronounced /ˈfeɪbəl/.
- What is the plural of fable?
- The plural of fable is fables.
Words near fable in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: fable (page history and authors); fable (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); పిట్టికత (Telugu) (page history and authors); fable (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ಕಥೆ (Kannada) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-fable.ogg.
Cite this entry: “fable.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/fable. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.