sable
Syllables: sa·ble/ˈseɪbəl/
sable noun: 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.
Noun
sable (countable and uncountable, plural sables)
- 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.
- Any other marten, especially Martes americana (syn. Mustela americana).
- A pelt of fur of a sable or of one of another species of martens; a coat made from this fur.
- "Ye must avenge my sister's son's death;
I will sables and martins bestow."1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 171 - Lovers dallied upon divans spread with sables.1928, Virginia Woolf, Orlando: A Biography, London: The Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished as Orlando: A Biography (eBook no. 0200331h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, July 2015
- "Ye must avenge my sister's son's death;
- An artist's brush made from the fur of the sable, the kolinsky sable-hair brush.
- A black colour on a coat of arms.
- A dark brown colour, resembling the fur of some sables.
- Black garments, especially worn in mourning.
- I ſee its Sables wove by Deſtiny.1745, [Edward Young], “Night the Ninth and Last. The Consolation. Containing, among Other Things, I. A Moral Survey of the Nocturnal Heavens. II. A Night-Address to the Deity. […]”, in The Complaint...
- […]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...1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC
- The sablefish.
Adjective
sable (comparative sabler, superlative sablest)
- Sable-coloured, black.
- When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 12”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC - Night, sable goddess! from her ebon throne, / In rayless majesty, now stretches forth / Her leaden sceptre o'er a slumbering world.1742, [Edward Young], “Night the First”, in The Complaint: Or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality, London: […] R[obert] Dodsley […], →OCLC
- When I behold the violet past prime,
- In blazon, of the colour black.
- Made of sable fur.
- Dark, somber.
- 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.1922, Michael Arlen, “3/2/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days
- Dark-skinned; Black.
- Some of the sable females, who formerly stood aloof, now began to relax and appear less coy; but my heart was still fixed on London, where I hoped to be ere long.1789, Olaudah Equiano, chapter 7, in The Interesting Narrative, volume I
- Ethnologists are in the wrong / About our sable brothers[.]1880 June 19, Henry Kendall, “My Piccaninny”, in The Australian Town and Country Journal, page 28, column 4
Proper noun capitalized: Sable
Sable
- A surname.
sable meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
sable in Hindi
- animal
- सेबल sebal
sable in Tamil
- இதுவும் ஒரு சிற்றினம் ஆகும், மணல்
sable in Marathi
- साबळे, सेबल
sable in Urdu
- animal
- سیبل sēbal
More languagesFewer languages
- sable in Bengali
- নকুলজাতীয় প্রাণীবিশেষ, নকুলজাতীয় প্রাণীর লোম, কালো রং
- sable in Telugu
- సేబుల్
- sable in Malayalam
- ശ്യാമ śyāma
- sable in Kannada
- ಸೆಬಲ್, ಸಾಬಲ್
- sable in Punjabi
- ਸੇਬਲ sebal
- sable in Gujarati
- સેબલ, સાબલે
- sable in Odia
- ସାବଲ୍, ସେବଲ
- sable in Nepali
- सेबल, साबले, साबल
- sable in Arabic
- سَمُّور sammūr
- sable in Malay
- samur, sabel
- sable in Persian
- سمور samôr
- sable in Thai
- เซเบิล
Examples of sable in a sentence
- Gerard, stood there in carriage gown and sables, radiant with surprise. ¶ "Phil!1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
- It was crimson at the top and sable at the bottom, with thin triangles of colors stabbing into each other.2002, Christopher Paolini, chapter 3, in Eragon:
- For twelve long months I had to pace, / Humping my swag with a cadging face, / Sleeping in the bush, like the sable race.1905, Banjo Paterson, Old Bush Songs, page 40:
Synonyms of sable
Forms of sable
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | sables |
| alternative form | sa. |
| alternative form | s. |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | sabler |
| superlative | sablest |
Origin of sable
Attested since 1275, from Middle English sable, from Old French sable and martre sable (“sable marten”), 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, whence German Zobel); ultimately from a Slavic word (compare Russian со́боль (sóbolʹ), Polish soból, Czech sobol). Compare also Middle Persian smwl (*samōr).
Words formed from sable
- American sable
- red sable
- Russian sable
- sable antelope
- sabled
- sablefish
- sable iron
- sable mouse
- sableness
- sably
- Siberian sable
Phrases with sable
Words that rhyme with sable
16 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about sable
- What does sable mean?
- Sable means 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.
- What is sable in Hindi?
- Sable in Hindi is सेबल (sebal). See Sable meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use sable in a sentence?
- Gerard, stood there in carriage gown and sables, radiant with surprise. ¶ "Phil!
- What part of speech is sable?
- Sable can be a noun, an adjective or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce sable?
- Sable is pronounced /ˈseɪbəl/.
- What is the plural of sable?
- The plural of sable is sables.
Words near sable in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sable (page history and authors); Sable (page history and authors); sable (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); sable (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); sable (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); sable (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ശ്യാമ (Malayalam) (page history and authors); sable (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); sable (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); sable (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); sable (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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-sable.ogg.
Cite this entry: “sable.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sable. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.