Word of the Day Archive
Tuesday April 8, 2003
equable \EK-wuh-buhl; EE-kwuh-\ , adjective:
1. Equal and uniform; not varying.
2. Not easily disturbed; not variable or changing -- said of the feelings, temper, etc.
An equable climate, evidently due to the large area of sea compared with the land, seems to extend over the greater part of the southern hemisphere; and, as a consequence, the vegetation partakes of a semi-tropical character.
-- Charles Darwin, The Voyage Of Beagle
Now, there can be no doubt that Irving . . . possesses great wit and charm, as well as a temperament that is equable, cheerful, and almost relentlessly easygoing.
-- Norman Podhoretz, Ex-Friends
He had an equable temperament, a straightforward Ohio friendliness, and though a national hero for his participating in the first American space flight to orbit the earth, in February 1962, he had no airs.
-- Elizabeth Drew, The Corruption of American Politics
Equable comes from Latin aequabilis, from aequare, to make even, from aequus, even.
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for equable
