able bale albe labe blae lbae abel bael aebl eabl beal ebal aleb laeb aelb ealb leab elab blea lbea bela ebla leba elba
Note: these 'words' (valid or invalid) are all the permutations of the word able. These words are obtained by scrambling the letters in able.
Definitions and meaning of able
able
Alternative forms
(obsolete) hable
Pronunciation
(US) IPA(key): /ˈeɪ.bl̩/, /ˈeɪ.bəl/
Rhymes: -eɪbəl
Homophone: Abel
Etymology 1
From Middle Englishable, from Old Northern Frenchable, variant of Old Frenchabile, habile, from Latinhabilis(“easily managed, held, or handled; apt; skillful”), from habeō(“have, possess”) + -ibilis.
Adjective
able (comparativeabler, superlativeablest)
(obsolete) Easy to use. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 18th century.]
(obsolete) Suitable; competent. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 18th century.]
(obsolete, dialectal) Liable to. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
Free from constraints preventing completion of task; permitted to; not prevented from. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
(obsolete, dialectal) Having the physical strength; robust; healthy. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
(obsolete) Rich; well-to-do. [Attested from the mid 16th century until the late 19th century.]
Gifted with skill, intelligence, knowledge, or competence. [First attested in the mid 16th century.]
(law) Legally qualified or competent. [First attested in the early 18th century.]
(nautical) Capable of performing all the requisite duties; as an able seaman. [First attested in the late 18th century.]
Usage notes
In standard English, one is "able to do something". In some older texts representing various dialects, "able for do something" is found instead, and in some Caribbean dialects "able with" is sometimes found.
Synonyms
See also Thesaurus:skillful
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle Englishablen, from Middle Englishable (adjective).
Verb
able (third-person singular simple presentables, present participleabling, simple past and past participleabled)
(transitive, obsolete) To make ready. [Attested from around (1150 to 1350) until the late 16th century.]
(transitive, obsolete) To make capable; to enable. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 19th century.]
(transitive, obsolete) To dress. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 15th century.]
(transitive, obsolete) To give power to; to reinforce; to confirm. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 17th century.]
(transitive, obsolete) To vouch for; to guarantee. [Attested from the late 16th century until the early 17th century.]
vi
None does offend, none....I’ll able ’em.
Derived terms
abled
Translations
Etymology 3
From the first letter of the word. Suggested in the 1916 United States Army Signal Book to distinguish the letter when communicating via telephone, and later adopted in other radio and telephone signal standards.
Noun
able (uncountable)
(military)The letter "A" in Navy Phonetic Alphabet.