# caber
## English
### Etymology

From Scottish Gaelic cabar (“spar, pole”).

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˈkeɪbə/, /ˈkɑː-/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (US) IPA: /ˈkeɪbɚ/, /ˈkɑ-/
* Rhymes: -eɪbə(ɹ)

### Noun

caber (plural cabers)
* A long, thick log held upright at one end and tossed in the Highland games.

#### Derived terms

* caber toss

#### Translations
### Anagrams

* Brace, acerb, brace, cabre, cabré

## Catalan
### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [kəˈβɛ]
* IPA: (Balearic) [kəˈbə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [kaˈbeɾ]

### Verb

caber (first-person singular present cabo, first-person singular preterite cabí, past participle cabut)
* Alternative form of cabre

#### Conjugation
### Further reading

* “caber” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “caber”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “caber” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “caber” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Galician
### Etymology

From Old Galcian and Old Galician-Portuguese caber, from Latin capere (“to take in, contain”), from Proto-Italic *kapiō, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂pyéti, from the root *keh₂p- (“to seize, grab”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kaˈbeɾ/ [kɑˈβ̞eɾ]
* Rhymes: -eɾ
* Hyphenation: ca‧ber

### Verb

caber (first-person singular present caibo, first-person singular preterite couben, past participle cabido) caber (first-person singular present caibo, first-person singular preterite coubem or coube, past participle cabido, reintegrationist norm)
* to fit (in something)
* to hold or contain; to be capable of containing

#### Conjugation

$^1$Less recommended.

#### Derived terms

* malcabido

### References

* Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “caber”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “caber”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “caber”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “caber”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

## Occitan
### Alternative forms

* caupre

### Etymology

From Old Occitan caber, from Latin capere (“to take in, contain”), from Proto-Italic *kapiō, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂pyéti, from the root *keh₂p- (“to seize, grab”).

### Pronunciation

* Audio (Languedoc):(file)

### Verb

caber
* to fit (in)

#### Conjugation

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

## Portuguese
### Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese caber, from Latin capere (“to take in, contain”), from Proto-Italic *kapiō, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂pyéti, from the root *keh₂p- (“to seize, grab”). Compare Galician caber, Spanish caber, Italian capire (“to understand”) and Romanian încăpea.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /kaˈbe(ʁ)/ [kaˈbe(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: /kaˈbe(ʁ)/ [kaˈbe(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /kaˈbe(ɾ)/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /kaˈbe(ʁ)/ [kaˈbe(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /kaˈbe(ɻ)/
* (Portugal) IPA: /kɐˈbeɾ/ [kɐˈβeɾ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /kɐˈbeɾ/ [kɐˈβeɾ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /kɐˈbe.ɾi/ [kɐˈβe.ɾi]
* Hyphenation: ca‧ber

### Verb

caber (first-person singular present caibo, first-person singular preterite coube, past participle cabido)
* (intransitive) to fit (no matter if space or volume is left) [with em ‘in something’]
    Este tamanho não cabe em mim.This size doesn't fit me.
* (intransitive) to traverse, pass through or across (a way, path, opening etc. no matter if space is left) [with em]
* (intransitive) to hold; to be capable of containing [with em]
    Nesse auditório cabem duas mil pessoas.That auditorium holds two thousand people.
* (intransitive) to be responsible for; to be up to somebody [with a]
    Cabe a você fazer uma escolha.It's up to you to make a choice.
* (intransitive) to be allotted, to be distributed [with a ‘to’]
    A cada um coube uma pequena parte.A small part was distributed to each person.

#### Quotations

* For quotations using this term, see Citations:caber.

#### Synonyms

* (to pass through): passar
* (to be responsible for): competir, pertencer
* (to fall to): calhar

#### Derived terms

* caber como uma luva
* cabimento
* cabível

#### Related terms

* capacidade
* cativante
* cativar
* cativeiro
* cativo

### Further reading

* “caber”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025

## Spanish
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish caber, from Latin capere (“take, hold, contain”), from Proto-Italic *kapiō, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂pyéti, from the root *keh₂p- (“to seize, grab”). Compare English have, capture, catch and chase. See also Spanish cazar, cachar.
The 1st person singular of the present reflects an original */ˈkai̯po/, through metathesis from Latin capiō (compare Portuguese caibo). Similarly the preterite continues */ˈkau̯pi/, metathesis of a Vulgar Latin perfect stem *capuī (compare Portuguese coube).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kaˈbeɾ/ [kaˈβ̞eɾ]
* Audio (Colombia):(file)
* Rhymes: -eɾ
* Syllabification: ca‧ber

### Verb

caber (first-person singular present quepo, first-person singular preterite cupe, past participle cabido)
* (transitive) to fit, enter (to be able to be contained (by something; regardless of whether space or volume remains))
    Synonym: entrar
    Quise tomar prestados los pantalones de mi hermana pequeña, pero no me cabían.I wanted to borrow my little sister's trousers, but they didn't fit me.
* (transitive) to traverse, pass through or across (a way, path, door, hole, opening, mouth, orifice, etc.)
    Synonym: pasar
* (transitive) to be held or contained (to be held inside (something) or passed through (regardless of whether space or volume remains))
* (transitive, intransitive) to have, hold, should be (in certain phrases)
    No os quepa duda... ― Do not have any doubt about...
    Cabe señalar que... ― It should be noted that...
    No cabe comparación entre las dos cosas.The two things aren't comparable.
* (transitive, figuratively) to be acceptable, accepted, permitted, permissible, allowable, etc.
    Synonym: tener cabida
* (archaic) to take
* (archaic) to understand
* to be possible
    Cabe eso. ― There is room for it.

#### Usage notes

* When something or somebody fits into something, in a strict sense, usually an adverb such as justo, justamente, or apenas is added.
* This verb always implies an active sense; i.e., the subject always does the action of this verb, although some translations to English may have a passive form.

#### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language. $^2$Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

#### Derived terms

* al que le quepa el sayo
* no te quepa duda
* si cabe

#### Related terms

* cabida
* capacidad
* captar
* cautivar
* cupo

#### See also

* ajustar

### Further reading

* “caber”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10