cable

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈkeɪ.bəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #3949

Meanings

1

noun
A set of wires covered in plastic that carries electricity or signals.

Did you put a cable in the wall for the new TV?
2

noun
A thick, strong rope made of twisted wire or fibre.

The cable that held up the bridge was over a metre thick.
3

noun
A television service that sends programmes through cables.

We watched a movie on cable last night.
4

verb
To send a message by telegraph, especially overseas.

He cabled a short message across the Atlantic.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a set of wires covered in... line

3 noun · a television service that... cable television

4 verb · to send a message by... telegraph wire

Word family

Forms cabledcablescabling

Derived forms anticablecable-actuatedcable-carcable-knitcable-lacingcable-laidcable-readycablecarcablecastcablegamicablegatecablegram

Related forms cablet

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

cable car
a passenger vehicle pulled or supported along its route by a cable

Noun + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

By diligence and patience the mouse ate in two the cable

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.

*kap- Proto-Indo-European cable Middle English capulum la-lat capiō Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# cable

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈkeɪ.bəl/
**Frequency rank:** 3949

## Meanings
1. A set of wires covered in plastic that carries electricity or signals.
2. A thick, strong rope made of twisted wire or fibre.
3. A television service that sends programmes through cables.
4. To send a message by telegraph, especially overseas.

## Examples
- Did you put a cable in the wall for the new TV?
- The cable that held up the bridge was over a metre thick.
- We watched a movie on cable last night.
- He cabled a short message across the Atlantic.

## Derived Forms
- anticable
- cable-actuated
- cable-car
- cable-knit
- cable-lacing
- cable-laid
- cable-ready
- cablecar
- cablecast
- cablegami
- cablegate
- cablegram

## Related Forms
- cablet

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kap-
- Root: cable
- Root: capulum
- Root: capiō

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Cable is 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.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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