sable

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noun

sa·ble ˈsā-bəl

plural sables

: the color black

: black clothing worn in mourning

—usually used in plural

a or plural sable

(1)

: a carnivorous mammal (Martes zibellina) of the weasel family that occurs chiefly in northern Asia

(2)

: any of various animals related to the sable

: the fur or pelt of a sable

: the usually dark brown color of the fur of the sable

sable

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Example Sentences

Noun a brush made of sable

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The brush, of sable, which immediately conjures up some semi-mythical creature of the Russian forests.

The Economist, 22 Apr. 2020 European, American and Japanese furriers had long purchased sable, mink and otter furs from local hunters, but had never been interested in the coarse fur of the Tarbagan marmot.

Paul French, CNN, 18 Apr. 2020 Salmon, of course, but also smoked trout, whitefish and sable are all gorgeous on a graze board.

Katie Workman, NBC News, 12 Dec. 2019 They are not committed to a two-season cycle, private planes and yachts, sable and vicuna.

Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2019 In Angola, the national team is nicknamed Palancas Negras after giant sable antelopes, the country’s national symbol, famed for its long, curved horns.

Yomi Kazeem, Quartz Africa, 19 July 2019 They are made of mink, faux mink, sable, silk, cashmere, or synthetic fibers.

Beth Teitell, BostonGlobe.com, 3 July 2019 At the time, there were fewer than 44 sable antelope and perhaps a thousand buffalo on one million acres.

Paul Steyn, National Geographic, 2 May 2019 Dessert was strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream followed by a selection of assorted fresh fruits, then coffee and petit fours.

Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, 3 June 2019

Adjective

Mary’s head extrudes from a pyramid of gold, velvet and sable.

Dominic Green, WSJ, 12 Nov. 2022 Over a brown butter sable Breton, Malzahn layers cremeux, raspberry rhubarb consommé and thyme-infused rhubarb with ruby vinegar mirror.

Bahar Anooshahr, The Arizona Republic, 2 Aug. 2022 The texture is also magnificent as the crunch of the sable crust balances the creamy top.

Bahar Anooshahr, The Arizona Republic, 2 Aug. 2022 Its interior, in dove gray and sable brown, had the feel of a luxury yacht's cabin, right down to the slabs of natural-finish wood trim laced with delicate metal inlays.

Rich Ceppos, Car and Driver, 27 July 2022 Animal activist Bo Derek was horrified to learn that the queen of England wears antique sable coats.

Pat Myers, Washington Post, 16 June 2022 No matter the wait, no matter the tourists—fastidious New Yorkers wouldn’t get their smoked sable elsewhere.

Mattie Kahn, Town & Country, 6 May 2022 Fencing and moats were created with a private grant, and in 1970 three species of hoofed animals — a South African sable antelope, greater kudu and gemsbok — arrived.

Gary Warth, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2022 To ﬁght the bitter cold, Brown taught the other women to row and shared her sable coat.

People Staff, PEOPLE.com, 15 Apr. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Middle Low German sabel sable or its fur, from Middle High German zobel, of Slav origin; akin to Russian sobol' sable or its fur

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of sable was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century