cable

English Online Dictionary. What means cable‎? What does cable mean?

English

Etymology

Recorded since c.1205 as Middle English cable, from Old Northern French cable, from Late Latin capulum (“lasso, rope, halter”), from Latin capiō (“to take, seize”). Use of the term "cable" to refer to the USD/GBP exchange rate originated in the mid-19th century, when the exchange rate began to be transmitted across the Atlantic by a submarine communications cable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪ.bəl/
• Rhymes: -eɪbəl

Noun

cable (plural cables)

1. (material) A long object used to make a physical connection.
   1. A strong, large-diameter wire or rope, or something resembling such a rope.

      Synonyms: wire rope, cord; see also Thesaurus:string

   2. An assembly of two or more cable-laid ropes.
   3. An assembly of two or more wires, used for electrical power or data circuits; one or more and/or the whole may be insulated.
   4. (nautical) A strong rope or chain used to moor or anchor a ship.

      Coordinate term: hawser
2. (communication) A system for transmitting television or Internet services over a network of coaxial or fibreoptic cables.
   1. (television) Ellipsis of cable television, broadcast over the above network, not by antenna.
4. A telegram, notably when sent by (submarine) telegraph cable.

   Synonym: cablegram

5. (nautical) A unit of length equal to one tenth of a nautical mile.

   Synonym: cable length

6. (unit, chiefly nautical) 100 fathoms, 600 imperial feet, approximately 185 m.
7. (finance) The currency pair British Pound against United States Dollar.
8. (architecture) A moulding, shaft of a column, or any other member of convex, rounded section, made to resemble the spiral twist of a rope.
9. (knitting) A textural pattern achieved by passing groups of stitches over one another.

Derived terms

Related terms

• cablet

Translations

Verb

cable (third-person singular simple present cables, present participle cabling, simple past and past participle cabled)

1. (transitive) To provide with cable(s)
2. (transitive) To fasten (as if) with cable(s)
3. (transitive) To wrap wires to form a cable
4. (transitive) To send a telegram, news, etc., by cable
5. (intransitive) To communicate by cable
6. (architecture, transitive) To ornament with cabling.
7. (knitting) To create cable stitches.

Translations

Anagrams

• Caleb

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from French câble.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈkab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈka.ble]
• Rhymes: -ablə, -able

Noun

cable m (plural cables)

1. cable

Derived terms

• cablar
• cablejar

Further reading

• “cable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Galician

Alternative forms

• calabre, cabre

Etymology

Attested in 1432 as caabre. From Old French chaable (“cable”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkable/ [ˈkɑ.β̞lɪ]
• Rhymes: -able
• Hyphenation: ca‧ble

Noun

cable m (plural cables)

1. (material) cable
   • 1432, A. Rodríguez González (ed.), Livro do Concello de Pontevedra (1431-1463). Pontevedra: Museo de Pontevedra, page 69:

   Synonym: cabo

References

• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “caabre”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “cable”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “cabre”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “cable”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “cable”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Middle English

Alternative forms

• kable, cabul, cabull, kabel, cabil, cabel, cabulle, cabill

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Northern French cable, from Late Latin capulum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaːbəl/

Noun

cable (plural cables)

1. A cable or strong rope (as used in nautical applications)
2. Any kind of rope or cable; a supporting wire.

Descendants

• English: cable
• Scots: cable
• → Middle Irish: cábla
  • Irish: cábla
  • Manx: caabley, caabyl
  • Scottish Gaelic: càball

References

• “cāble, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.

Old French

Etymology

From Late Latin capulum.

Noun

cable oblique singular, m (oblique plural cables, nominative singular cables, nominative plural cable)

1. Old Northern French form of chable

Descendants

• French: câble
  • → Catalan: cable
  • → Spanish: cable
    • → Tagalog: kable
  • → Esperanto: kablo
  • → Galician: cable
  • → Dutch: kabel
  • → Romanian: cablu
  • → Slovak: kábel
  • → Swedish: kabel
  • → Turkish: kablo
  • → Persian: کابل (kâbl)
• → Middle English: cable, kable, cabul, cabull, kabel, cabil, cabel, cabulle, cabill
  • English: cable
  • Scots: cable
  • → Middle Irish: cábla
    • Irish: cábla
    • Manx: caabley, caabyl
    • Scottish Gaelic: càball

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from French câble.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkable/ [ˈka.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: ca‧ble

Noun

cable m (plural cables)

1. cable, cord
2. wire
3. (colloquial) hand, help

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Tagalog: kable

Further reading

• “cable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10