English Explanatory Dictionary

able

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task.
  2. Free from constraints preventing completion of task; permitted to; not prevented from.
  3. Gifted with skill, intelligence, knowledge, or competence.
  4. Legally qualified or competent.
  5. Capable of performing all the requisite duties; as an able seaman.
  6. Having the physical strength; robust; healthy.
  7. Easy to use.
  8. Suitable; competent.
  9. Liable to.
  10. Rich; well-to-do.
verb
  1. To make ready.
  2. To make capable; to enable.
  3. To dress.
  4. To give power to; to reinforce; to confirm.
  5. To vouch for; to guarantee.
  6. present participle and gerund of can
noun
  1. The letter "A" in Navy Phonetic Alphabet.
noun
  1. radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter A.
name
  1. A surname.
name
  1. Acronym of Achieving a Better Life Experience, a savings account for people with disabilities.

Pronunciation

/ˈeɪ.bl̩/ [ˈeɪ̯.bɫ̩] En-us-able.ogg [ˈeɪ̯.bw] /ebl̩/ [eːbɐl] [eːbɨɭ] /ˈæbl̩/

Word forms

able abler ablest hable ables abling abled

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁bʰéh₁yeti Proto-Italic *haβēō Latin habeō Proto-Indo-European *-elis Proto-Italic *-elis Latin -ilis Latin habilis Old French ablebor. Middle English able English able From Middle English able, from Old Northern French able, variant of Old French abile, habile, from Latin habilis (“easily managed, held, or handled; apt; skillful”). Doublet of habile.

Synonyms

Alfa

Related words

-able -ible

Derived words

ability able-bodied able-bodism able-bodyism able-bodyist ableism ableist able-minded ablenationalism ablenationalist ableness ablenormative ablenormativity able rating able seaman ablesplain able whackets ablings ably aiblins be able differently able disability disable disabled disablism enable inable reablement transableism unable abled

Translations

Arabic: قَادِر Arabic: قَدِير Arabic: بَارِع Arabic: مَاهِر Arabic: شاطر Armenian: ընդունակ Armenian: ճարտար Belarusian: здо́льны Bulgarian: способен, умел, годен Bulgarian: кадъ́рен Burmese: စွမ်း Catalan: capaç Chinese Mandarin: 能幹 /能干 Chinese Mandarin: 得力 Czech: schopný Danish: habil Danish: kompetent Danish: dygtig Dutch: competent Dutch: handig Dutch: bedreven Dutch: kundig Esperanto: lerta Finnish: taitava Finnish: pystyvä Finnish: hyvä French: capable French: expérimenté West-Frisian: betûft Georgian: მარჯვე Georgian: უნარიანი German: fähig German: tüchtig Greek: ικανός Hebrew: יכול Hebrew: מסוגל Hindi: समर्थ Hungarian: rátermett Hungarian: ügyes Hungarian: tehetséges Hungarian: jó képességű Hungarian: hozzáértő Indonesian: sanggup Irish: ábalta Irish: in ann Italian: abile Japanese: 有能 Japanese: 腕利き Korean: 능란한 Latin: potis Latin: potens Latin: habilis Latvian: izdarīgs Latvian: veikls Luxembourgish: fäeg Luxembourgish: capabel Luxembourgish: dichteg Macedonian: способен Malay: boleh Malayalam: കഴിവുള്ള Maltese: kapaċi Polish: umiejętny Polish: zręczny Polish: zdolny Portuguese: capaz Portuguese: hábil Quechua: kuti Romanian: abil Romanian: capabil Russian: спосо́бный Russian: уме́лый Sanskrit: समर्थ Scottish Gaelic: comasach Serbo-Croatian: sposoban Serbo-Croatian: способан Serbo-Croatian: vješt Serbo-Croatian: вјешт Serbo-Croatian: kadar
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