fable

CEFRB2

/ˈfeɪbəl/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A short story that teaches a lesson, often using animals.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Any story told to excite wonder; common talk; the theme of talk.

Examples

  • I regaled the devil; he gave me a fable.

  • The following passage is a quotation from a well-known fable.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Fiction; untruth; falsehood.

  2. A fictitious narrative intended to enforce some useful truth or precept, usually with animals, etc. as characters; an apologue. Prototypically, Aesop's Fables.

  3. The plot, story, or connected series of events forming the subject of an epic or dramatic poem.

More examples

In context

  • The following passage was quoted from a well-known fable.

  • 1852, Matthew Arnold, Empedocles on Etna, Act II, in Empedocles on Etna and Other Poems, London: B. Fellowes, p. 50, He fables, yet speaks truth.

  • […]we grew / The fable of the city where we dwelt.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The ancient Greek storyteller shared a blank about a clever fox.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French fable, from Latin fābula, from fārī (“to speak, say”) + -bula (“instrumental suffix”). See ban, and compare fabulous, fame. Doublet of fabula.