ABLES

Etymology

Proper noun

Ables

A surname.

Anagrams

• Basel, Basle, Blase, Bleas, Sabel, Sable, albes, baels, bales, beals, blase, blasĂ©, labes, sable, saleb

Verb

ables

Third-person singular simple present indicative form of able

Anagrams

• Basel, Basle, Blase, Bleas, Sabel, Sable, albes, baels, bales, beals, blase, blasĂ©, labes, sable, saleb

Source: Wiktionary


ABLE

A"ble, a. [Comp. Abler; superl. Ablest.] Etym: [OF. habile, L. habilis that may be easily held or managed, apt, skillful, fr. habere to have, hold. Cf. Habile and see Habit.]

1. Fit; adapted; suitable. [Obs.] A many man, to ben an abbot able. Chaucer.

2. Having sufficient power, strength, force, skill, means, or resources of any kind to accomplish the object; possessed of qualifications rendering competent for some end; competent; qualified; capable; as, an able workman, soldier, seaman, a man able to work; a mind able to reason; a person able to be generous; able to endure pain; able to play on a piano.

3. Specially: Having intellectual qualifications, or strong mental powers; showing ability or skill; talented; clever; powerful; as, the ablest man in the senate; an able speech. No man wrote abler state papers. Macaulay.

4. (Law)

Definition: Legally qualified; possessed of legal competence; as, able to inherit or devise property.

Note: Able for, is Scotticism. "Hardly able for such a march." Robertson.

Syn.

– Competent; qualified; fitted; efficient; effective; capable; skillful; clever; vigorous; powerful.

A"ble, v. t. Etym: [See Able, a.] [Obs.]

1. To make able; to enable; to strengthen. Chaucer.

2. To vouch for. "I 'll able them." Shak.

*a*ble. Etym: [F. -able, L. -abilis.]

Definition: An adjective suffix now usually in a passive sense; able to be; fit to be; expressing capacity or worthiness in a passive sense; as, movable, able to be moved; amendable, able to be amended; blamable, fit to be blamed; salable.

Note: The form ible is used in the same sense.

Note: It is difficult to say when we are not to use -able instead of -ible. "Yet a rule may be laid down as to when we are to use it. To all verbs, then, from the Anglo-Saxon, to all based on the uncorrupted infinitival stems of Latin verbs of the first conjugation, and to all substantives, whencesoever sprung, we annex - able only." Fitzed. Hall.

*a*ble. Etym: [F. -able, L. -abilis.]

Definition: An adjective suffix now usually in a passive sense; able to be; fit to be; expressing capacity or worthiness in a passive sense; as, movable, able to be moved; amendable, able to be amended; blamable, fit to be blamed; salable.

Note: The form ible is used in the same sense.

Note: It is difficult to say when we are not to use -able instead of -ible. "Yet a rule may be laid down as to when we are to use it. To all verbs, then, from the Anglo-Saxon, to all based on the uncorrupted infinitival stems of Latin verbs of the first conjugation, and to all substantives, whencesoever sprung, we annex - able only." Fitzed. Hall.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 November 2024

THEORETICAL

(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the most massive cup of coffee contained 22,739.14 liters and was created by Alcaldía Municipal de Chinchiná (Colombia) at Parque de Bolívar, Chinchiná, Caldas, Colombia, on 15 June 2019. Fifty people worked for more than a month to build this giant cup. The drink prepared was Arabic coffee.

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