sable

CEFRB2

/ˈseɪbəl/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

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In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A small animal with valuable dark brown fur.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Dark brown or black in color.

Examples

  • A sable is a small and dark animal that lives in the forests.

  • She wore a grand and beautiful coat made of dark sable fur.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈseɪbɫ/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A pelt of fur of a sable or of one of another species of martens; a coat made from this fur.

  2. Any other marten, especially Martes americana (syn. Mustela americana).

  3. 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.

More examples

In context

  • She wore a luxurious coat made of dark sable fur.

  • Lovers dallied upon divans spread with sables.

  • "Ye must avenge my sister's son's death; I will sables and martins bestow."

Synonyms

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Nearby

Origin

noun

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).