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Sable

 [sey-buhl]   Example Sentences Origin

sa·ble

   [sey-buhl] noun, plural -bles, (especially collectively for 1, 2) -ble, adjective
noun
1.
an Old World weasellike mammal, Mustela zibellina, of cold regions in Eurasia and the North Pacific islands, valued for its dark brown fur.
2.
a marten, especially Mustela americana.
3.
the fur of the sable.
4.
the color black, often being one of the heraldic colors.
5.
sables, mourning garments.
adjective
6.
of the heraldic color sable.
7.
made of the fur or hair of the sable.
8.
very dark; black.

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Sable is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
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Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English < Old French < Middle Low German sabel (compare late Old High German zobel) < Slavic or Baltic; compare Russian sóbol', Lithuanian sàbalas; ulterior origin obscure
Example Sentences
  • Bands of mink or sable circle the hipline or hemline of many new fall dresses.
  • Like a flash of swords, a herd of sable horns parade across the savanna.
  • Then he set to work on the details with fine sable brushes.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

Sa·ble

   [sey-buhl]
noun
1.
Cape, a cape on a small island at the SW tip of Nova Scotia, Canada: lighthouse.
2.
Cape, a cape at the S tip of Florida.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Sable
Collins
World English Dictionary
sable (ˈseɪbəl)
 
—n , pl -bles, -ble
1.  a marten, Martes zibellina, of N Asian forests, with dark brown luxuriant furRelated: zibeline
2.  a.  the highly valued fur of this animal
 b.  (as modifier): a sable coat
3.  American sable the brown, slightly less valuable fur of the American marten, Martes americana
4.  the colour of sable fur: a dark brown to yellowish-brown colour
 
—adj
5.  of the colour of sable fur
6.  black; dark; gloomy
7.  (usually postpositive) heraldry of the colour black
 
Related: zibeline
 
[C15: from Old French, from Old High German zobel, of Slavic origin; related to Russian sobol', Polish sobol]

Sable (ˈseɪbəl)
 
—n
1.  a cape at the S tip of Florida: the southernmost point of continental US
2.  the southernmost point of Nova Scotia, Canada

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sable
1423, from M.Fr. sable (also martre sable "sable martin"), in reference to the mammal or its fur, from O.Fr., from a Gmc. source (cf. M.Du. sabel, M.L.G. sabel, M.H.G. zobel), ultimately from a Slavic source (cf. Rus., Pol., Czech sobol, the name of the animal), "which itself is borrowed from an East-Asiatic
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language" [Klein].

sable
1352, "black" as a heraldic color, commonly identified with sable (1), but the animal's fur is brown and this may be a different word of unknown origin; it may reflect a medieval custom (unattested) of dyeing sable fur black.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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