SABLE • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Sable

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/sˈeɪbəl/ Listen

noun

Sable n.

(Zool.) A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family (Mustela zibellina) native of the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, noted for its fine, soft, and valuable fur. Note: The sable resembles the marten, but has a longer head and ears. Its fur consists of a soft under wool, with a dense coat of hair, overtopped by another still longer. It varies greatly in color and quality according to the locality and the season of the year. The darkest and most valuable furs are taken in autumn and winter in the colder parts of Siberia, Russia, and British North America. Note: The American sable, or marten, was formerly considered a distinct species (Mustela Americana), but it differs very little from the Asiatic sable, and is now considered only a geographical variety.

The fur of the sable.

A mourning garment; a funeral robe; generally in the plural. "Sables wove by destiny."

(Her.) The tincture black; represented by vertical and horizontal lines crossing each other.

adjective

Sable adj. Of the color of the sable's fur; dark; black; used chiefly in poetry. "Night, sable goddess! from her ebon throne, In rayless majesty, now stretches forth Her leaden scepter o'er a slumbering world."

Sable antelope (Zool.), a large South African antelope (Hippotragus niger). Both sexes have long, sharp horns. The adult male is black; the female is dark chestnut above, white beneath.

Sable iron, a superior quality of Russia iron; so called because originally stamped with the figure of a sable.

Sable mouse (Zool.), the lemming.

verb

Sable v. t. (past & past part. sabled; pres. part. sabling) To render sable or dark; to drape darkly or in black. "Sabled all in black the shady sky."

See images of 'Sable'

Etymology of 'Sable'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Sable" Quotes from Famous Books

... hall where chiefs were late convened![4.B.] Oh! dome displeasing unto British eye! With diadem hight Foolscap, lo! a Fiend, A little Fiend that scoffs incessantly, There sits in parchment robe arrayed, and by[bf] His side is hung a seal and sable scroll, Where blazoned glare names known to chivalry,[bg] And sundry signatures adorn the roll,[bh] Whereat the Urchin points and laughs ...

— The Works of Lord Byron, Volume 2 • George Gordon Byron

... may, but he shall rage in vain. But this when time requires.—It now remains We launch a bark to plough the watery plains, And waft the sacrifice to Chrysa's shores, With chosen pilots, and with labouring oars. Soon shall the fair the sable ship ascend, And some deputed prince the charge attend: This Creta's king, or Ajax shall fulfil, Or wise Ulysses see perform'd our will; Or, if our royal pleasure shall ordain, Achilles' self conduct her o'er the main; Let fierce Achilles, dreadful in his ...

— The Iliad of Homer • Homer

... the noble rounding of the face, which was grave, a little austere even, but still sensitive and delicate. Her black hair, thanks to Mrs. Burgoyne's devices, rippled against the brow and cheek, almost hiding the small ear. The graceful cloak, with its touches of sable on a main fabric of soft white, hid the ugly dress; its ample folds heightened the natural dignity of the young form and long limbs, lent them a stately and muse-like charm. Mrs. Burgoyne and Miss Manisty looked at each other, then at Miss Foster. Both of them had the same curious feeling, ...

— Eleanor • Mrs. Humphry Ward

... of September, a courier from the Russian cabinet arrived from St. Petersburg, bearing a letter to his Majesty from the Emperor Alexander; and among other magnificent gifts were two very handsome fur pelisses of black fox and sable martin. ...

— The Private Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Complete • Constant

... sat over his chessboard in deep concentration. The far edge of the board seemed to be indefinite, lost partially in the mysterious sable curtain ...

— Breaking Point • James E. Gunn

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