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sable

Pronunciation: /ˈseɪbəl/

The English word “sable” has 13 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. 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. Any other marten, especially Martes americana (syn. Mustela americana).
  3. A pelt of fur of a sable or of one of another species of martens; a coat made from this fur.
  4. An artist's brush made from the fur of the sable, the kolinsky sable-hair brush.
  5. A black colour on a coat of arms.
  6. A dark brown colour, resembling the fur of some sables.
  7. Black garments, especially worn in mourning.
  8. The sablefish.

adjective

  1. Sable-coloured, black.
  2. In blazon, of the colour black.
  3. Made of sable fur.
  4. Dark, somber.
  5. Dark-skinned; Black.

Etymology

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…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.