fable
/ˈfeɪbəl/FAY-buhl
/ˈfeɪbəl/FAY-buhl
Meaninga telling
Common meaning: a short story with a moral
- fabto speak, sayLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 766 · scan
- lenoun ending (from Latin -ulus)
Journey through time
- Latinfor, fārī, fātum‘to speak, say’
- Middle Englishfablesource
- Englishfable‘a short story with a moral’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin for ‘to speak, say’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry for, p. 766 · dictionary scan; Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry INFANT, p. 291 · dictionary scan
Roots
- for, fārī, fātum Latin “to speak, say”
Related words
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