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fable

fa·ble [ ˈfā-bəl]

fable

noun

[ˈfā-bəl]

Definition of fable

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a fictitious narrative or statement: such as

a : a legendary story of supernatural happenings Minerva is in fables said, from Jove without a mother to proceed— Sir John Davies

b : a narration intended to enforce a useful truth
especially : one in which animals speak and act like human beings
//The theme of the fable was the folly of human vanity.

c : falsehood, lie
//The story that he won the battle single-handedly is a mere fable.

fable

verb

fabled; fabling\ ˈfā-b(ə-)liŋ \

Definition of fable (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

archaic : to tell fables

transitive verb

: to talk or write about as if true

Other Words from fable

Verb

fabler \ ˈfā-b(ə-)lər \ noun

Synonyms & Antonyms for dainty

Synonyms: Noun

Recent Examples on the Web

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
//At one point, one of his interview subjects independently references that exact fable, no prompting necessary.
— Wired, "The Lovability of Malcolm Gladwell: A Gladwellian Analysis," 9 Sep. 2019
//Contrary to many wild animals that populate the world of fairy tales and fables, furry Bruin — with a few exceptions — appears as a good-natured, snuggly, and contented being.
— David James, Anchorage Daily News, "New book explores mankind’s fascination with bears, from Stone Age to 'Winnie the Pooh’," 31 Aug. 2019
//Grandmothers, uncles, and cousins hand down traditional fables of kings and lost treasures, along with gossip about the neighbors and stories of the Soviet invaders in the 1980s.
— Lidija Haas, Harper's magazine, "New Books," 10 Jan. 2019
//Landes thoroughly imbues his savage fable with animalistic playfulness that never permits forgetting its gun-throttling troop is coming of age in isolation.
— Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, "Review: Heaven, Earth and war collide in Alejandro Landes’ visceral ‘Monos’," 12 Sep. 2019
//AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi India’s mission to the moon can well be a modern-day fable of grit and determination that inspires young minds to pursue a career in space.
— Manavi Kapur, Quartz India, "Inspired by ISRO? Here’s how much money you can make in Indian space research," 10 Sep. 2019
//There’s an instant kick of visceral excitement, a Pavlovian jolt, in being enveloped in a bone-familiar pop fable.
— Troy Patterson, The New Yorker, "The VOID Is Where Virtual Reality Enters the Dying Meatspace of the Mall," 23 Aug. 2019
//The newest chapter in that expansive compendium of progressive myth and fable: The Verbal Assault of Representative Erica Thomas.
— John Hirschauer, National Review, "Erica Thomas, Mythmaker," 26 July 2019
//Published in 1516, More’s fable told the story of an island kingdom that had deliberately divided itself from the mainland in order to protect its perfect society.
— 1843, "Love Island’s literary forebears, from Eden to The Tempest," 19 June 2019

First Known Use of fable

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

History and Etymology for fable

Noun

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Latin fābula "talk, gossip, account, tale, legend," from fā-, stem of for, fārī "to speak, say" + -bula, feminine derivative of -bulum, instrumental suffix (going back to Indo-European *-dhlom) — more at ban entry 1

Verb

Middle English fablen, borrowed from Anglo-French fabler, fableier, going back to Latin fābulārī "to talk, converse, invent a story," verbal derivative of fābula "talk, account, fable entry 1"

Dictionary Entries near fable

More Synonyms and Antonyms offable