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sable

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sable¹

  • /ˈseɪbəl/
  • /ˈseɪbɫ/

Rhymes with -eɪbəl

Where it comes from

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).

noun sables · sa. · s.

  1. countable 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.
  2. countable Any other marten, especially Martes americana (syn. Mustela americana).
  3. countable, uncountable 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."
  4. countable An artist's brush made from the fur of the sable, the kolinsky sable-hair brush.
  5. uncountable A black colour on a coat of arms.
  6. countable, uncountable A dark brown colour, resembling the fur of some sables.
  7. countable, in plural, uncountable Black garments, especially worn in mourning. I ſee its Sables wove by Deſtiny.
  8. countable, uncountable The sablefish.

adjective sabler · sablest · sa. · s.

  1. Sable-coloured, black. When I behold the violet past prime, And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white
  2. In blazon, of the colour black.
  3. Made of sable fur.
  4. 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.
  5. archaic, literary 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.

    Similar: black, dusky, inky, sooty, swarthy

Sable²

proper noun

  1. A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: ebony, jet black, coal black, colorless, achromatic, pitch black, martes zibellina, soot black, marten, mullet, fur, fesse, saltire, sandy, grit, dirt

Translations

Every language

noun animal

Españolcebellina, marta cibelina
한국어검은담비 geomeundambi
日本語クロテン kuroten
中文黑貂 hēidiāo, 紫貂 zǐdiāo
हिन्दीसेबल sebal
Portuguêszibelina
Françaiszibeline, martre
DeutschZobel
Italianozibellina
Românăzibelină, samur
Русскийсо́боль sóbolʹ
العربيةسَمُّور sammūr

noun fur

Españolmarta
日本語クロテンの毛皮 kuroten-no kegawa
中文黑貂皮 hēidiāopí
DeutschZobel
Românăzibelină, samur
Русскийсо́боль sóbolʹ

noun heraldic colour

Españolsable
Portuguêssable
Françaissable
DeutschSchwarz
Italianonero
Românăneagră

noun colour

日本語黒色 kuro iro

adj of black colour on a coat of arms

Españolsable
Portuguêssable, saibro
Françaissable
Deutschschwarz
Italianonero
Românănegru
Русскийчёрный čórnyj

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Cite this
MLA

"sable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sable. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

sable. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sable

Chicago

"sable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sable.

BibTeX
@misc{sable_2026,
  title = {sable},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sable},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}