cable

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a very strong thick rope made of twisted hemp or steel wire

   The cable that held up the bridge was over one metre thick.

2. 2
   noun

   a television system that transmits over cables

   I didn't think I would want cable when I moved houses.

3. 3
   noun

   a conductor for transmitting electrical or optical signals or electric power

   Did you put a cable in the wall?

4. 4
   noun

   a telegram sent abroad

   In the early 20th century, sending cables was the best way to transmit messages overseas.

5. 5
   noun

   television that is transmitted over cable directly to the receiver

   Did you watch anything on cable last night?

6. 6
   noun

   a nautical unit of depth

   The trench was over two thousand cables.

7. 7
   verb

   to send wires or telegrams

   I cabled a message across the Atlantic.

8. 8
   verb

   to fasten with a cable or rope

   We cable trees before we cut them down.

Etymology

Recorded since c.1205 as Middle English cable, from Old Northern French cable, from Late Latin capulum (“lasso, rope, halter”), from Latin capiō (“to take, seize”). Use of the term "cable" to refer to the USD/GBP exchange rate originated in the mid-19th century, when the exchange rate began to be transmitted across the Atlantic by a submarine communications cable.