sable
Part of speech: noun
adj
Morphological type: simple
Topics: government
heraldry
hobbies
lifestyle
monarchy
nobility
politics
Etymology: 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).
Inflected forms:
form: sables
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: sa.
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: s.
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: sabler
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: sablest
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: sa.
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: s.
pos: adj
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: 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.
pos: noun
tags: countable
gloss: Any other marten, especially Martes americana (syn. Mustela americana).
pos: noun
tags: countable
gloss: A pelt of fur of a sable or of one of another species of martens; a coat made from this fur.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: "Ye must avenge my sister's son's death;
I will sables and martins bestow."
Lovers dallied upon divans spread with sables.
gloss: An artist's brush made from the fur of the sable, the kolinsky sable-hair brush.
pos: noun
tags: countable
gloss: A black colour on a coat of arms.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
gloss: A dark brown colour, resembling the fur of some sables.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: Black garments, especially worn in mourning.
pos: noun
tags: countable
in-plural
uncountable
examples: I ſee its Sables wove by Deſtiny.
[…]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.
gloss: The sablefish.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: Sable-coloured, black.
pos: adj
examples: When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white
Night, sable goddess! from her ebon throne, / In rayless majesty, now stretches forth / Her leaden sceptre o'er a slumbering world.
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.
gloss: In blazon, of the colour black.
pos: adj
gloss: Made of sable fur.
pos: adj
gloss: Dark, somber.
pos: adj
examples: 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.
gloss: Dark-skinned; Black.
pos: adj
tags: archaic
literary
examples: 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.
Ethnologists are in the wrong / About our sable brothers[.]
Of this one of the drovers writes thus: - "Very soon there will be homesteads and stations dotted all over the Territory within easy distances of one another, driving our sable brethren from their ancient hunting grounds."
For twelve long months I had to pace, / Humping my swag with a cadging face, / Sleeping in the bush, like the sable race.
Related words: zibeline
Derived words: American sable
red sable
Russian sable
sable antelope
sabled
sablefish
sable iron
sable mouse
sableness
sably
Siberian sable
Translations:
lang: Southern Altai
word: киш
roman: kiš
lang: Arabic
word: سَمُّور
roman: sammūr
lang: Armenian
word: սամույր
roman: samuyr
lang: Old Armenian
word: սամոյր
roman: samoyr
lang: Azerbaijani
word: samur
lang: Bashkir
word: кеш
roman: keş
lang: Belarusian
word: со́баль
roman: sóbalʹ
lang: Bulgarian
word: самур
roman: samur
lang: Buryat
word: булган
roman: bulgan
lang: Catalan
word: mart gibelí
lang: Catalan
word: marta gibelina
lang: Catalan
word: gibelí
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 黑貂
roman: hēidiāo
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 紫貂
roman: zǐdiāo
lang: Chukchi
word: кытгым
roman: kytgym
lang: Czech
word: sobol
lang: Danish
word: zobel
lang: Daur
word: baleg
lang: Dolgan
word: киис
roman: kiis
lang: Dutch
word: sabel
lang: Dutch
word: sabelmarter
lang: Dutch
word: sabeldier
lang: Esperanto
word: zibelo
lang: Estonian
word: soobel
lang: Even
word: хэгэп
roman: həgəp
lang: Evenki
word: некэ̄
roman: ņekə̄
lang: Faroese
word: sobul
lang: Faroese
word: sibiriskur márur
lang: Finnish
word: soopeli
lang: French
word: zibeline
lang: French
word: martre
lang: Galician
word: marta cibelina
lang: Georgian
word: სიასამური
roman: siasamuri
lang: German
word: Zobel
lang: Hindi
word: सेबल
roman: sebal
lang: Hungarian
word: coboly
lang: Icelandic
word: safali
lang: Ingrian
word: sooboli
lang: Irish
word: sáible
lang: Italian
word: zibellina
lang: Japanese
word: クロテン
roman: kuroten
lang: Kazakh
word: бұлғын
roman: būlğyn
lang: Khakas
word: албыға
roman: albığa
lang: Komi-Zyrian
word: низь
roman: ńiź
lang: Korean
word: 검은담비
roman: geomeundambi
lang: Kyrgyz
word: киш
roman: kiş
lang: Latin
word: mus silvestris
lang: Latvian
word: sabulis
lang: Lithuanian
word: sabalas
lang: Macedonian
word: са́мур
roman: sámur
lang: Malay
word: samur
lang: Malay
word: sabel
lang: Manchu
word: ᠰᡝᡴᡝ
roman: seke
lang: Mangghuer
word: khara
lang: Mongghul
word: hara
lang: Mongolian
word: булга
roman: bulga
lang: Nanai
word: сэпэ
roman: sepe
lang: Nogai
word: кис
roman: kis
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: sobel
lang: Occitan
word: marta
lang: Persian
word: سمور
roman: samôr
lang: Middle Persian
word: smwl
lang: Polish
word: soból
lang: Portuguese
word: zibelina
lang: Punjabi
word: ਸੇਬਲ
roman: sebal
lang: Romanian
word: zibelină
lang: Romanian
word: samur
lang: Russian
word: со́боль
roman: sóbolʹ
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: са̀мӯр
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: сабољ
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: sàmūr
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: sabolj
lang: Shor
word: албыға
roman: albığa
lang: Slovak
word: soboľ
lang: Spanish
word: cebellina
lang: Spanish
word: marta cibelina
lang: Swedish
word: sobel
lang: Tatar
word: кеш
roman: keş
lang: Thai
word: เซเบิล
lang: Turkish
word: samur
lang: Turkish
word: su samuru
lang: Ottoman Turkish
word: سمور
roman: samur
lang: Tuvan
word: киш
roman: kiş
lang: Udmurt
word: нӥзь
roman: niź
lang: Ukrainian
word: со́боль
roman: sóbolʹ
lang: Urdu
word: سیبل
roman: sēbal
lang: Uyghur
word: بۇلغۇن
roman: bulghun
lang: Uzbek
word: samur
lang: Uzbek
word: sobol
lang: Welsh
word: bele
lang: Welsh
word: sabl
lang: Yakut
word: киис
roman: kiis
lang: Armenian
word: սամույր
roman: samuyr
lang: Old Armenian
word: սամոյր
roman: samoyr
lang: Bulgarian
word: самурова кожа
roman: samurova koža
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 黑貂皮
roman: hēidiāopí
lang: Faroese
word: saval
lang: Finnish
word: soopelinnahka
lang: German
word: Zobel
lang: Hungarian
word: cobolyprém
lang: Japanese
word: クロテンの毛皮
roman: kuroten-no kegawa
lang: Latvian
word: sabuļāda
lang: Romanian
word: zibelină
lang: Romanian
word: samur
lang: Russian
word: со́боль
roman: sóbolʹ
lang: Spanish
word: marta
lang: Swedish
word: sobelpäls
lang: Ottoman Turkish
word: سمور
roman: samur
lang: Bulgarian
word: черен цвят
roman: čeren cvjat
lang: Danish
word: sort
lang: Dutch
word: sabel
lang: Dutch
word: zwart
lang: Finnish
word: musta
lang: French
word: sable
lang: German
word: Schwarz
lang: Hungarian
word: fekete
lang: Italian
word: nero
lang: Macedonian
word: црна
roman: crna
lang: Polish
word: czerń
lang: Portuguese
word: sable
lang: Romanian
word: neagră
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: црна
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: crna
lang: Slovak
word: čierna
lang: Spanish
word: sable
lang: Swedish
word: svart
lang: Bulgarian
word: черен
roman: čeren
lang: German
word: schwarz
lang: Macedonian
word: црн
roman: crn
lang: Polish
word: czarny
lang: Portuguese
word: saibro
lang: Romanian
word: negru
lang: Russian
word: чёрный
roman: čórnyj