overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

sable.

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.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈseɪbəl//ˈseɪbɫ/

  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.

    countable

  2. Any other marten, especially Martes americana (syn. Mustela americana).

    countable

  3. A pelt of fur of a sable or of one of another species of martens; a coat made from this fur.

    countable · uncountable

  4. An artist's brush made from the fur of the sable, the kolinsky sable-hair brush.

    countable

  5. A black colour on a coat of arms.

    uncountable

  6. A dark brown colour, resembling the fur of some sables.

    countable · uncountable

  7. Black garments, especially worn in mourning.

    countable · in-plural · uncountable

  8. The sablefish.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

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 smwl (*samōr).

adj/ˈseɪbəl//ˈseɪbɫ/

  1. Sable-coloured, black.

  2. In blazon, of the colour black.

  3. Made of sable fur.

  4. Dark, somber.

  5. Dark-skinned; Black.

    archaic · literary
Where this word comes from

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 smwl (*samōr).

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

sable has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

sable studiosable workshello, sable

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.