Meaning of "fable" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD FABLE

From Latin fābula story, narrative, from fārī to speak, say.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF FABLE

fable  [ˈfeɪbəl]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF FABLE

Fable is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb fable in English.

WHAT DOES FABLE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Fable

Fable is a literary genre. A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to an interpretation of a moral lesson, which may at the end be added explicitly in a pithy maxim. A fable differs from a parable in that the latter excludes animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as actors that assume speech and other powers of humankind. Usage has not always been so clearly distinguished. In the King James Version of the New Testament, "μῦθος" was rendered by the translators as "fable" in First and Second Timothy, in Titus and in First Peter. A person who writes fables is a fabulist.

Definition of fable in the English dictionary

The first definition of fable in the dictionary is a short moral story, esp one with animals as characters. Other definition of fable is a false, fictitious, or improbable account; fiction or lie. Fable is also a story or legend about supernatural or mythical characters or events.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO FABLE

PRESENT

Present

I fable

you fable

he/she/it fables

we fable

you fable

they fable

Present continuous

I am fabling

you are fabling

he/she/it is fabling

we are fabling

you are fabling

they are fabling

Present perfect

I have fabled

you have fabled

he/she/it has fabled

we have fabled

you have fabled

they have fabled

Present perfect continuous

I have been fabling

you have been fabling

he/she/it has been fabling

we have been fabling

you have been fabling

they have been fabling

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I fabled

you fabled

he/she/it fabled

we fabled

you fabled

they fabled

Past continuous

I was fabling

you were fabling

he/she/it was fabling

we were fabling

you were fabling

they were fabling

Past perfect

I had fabled

you had fabled

he/she/it had fabled

we had fabled

you had fabled

they had fabled

Past perfect continuous

I had been fabling

you had been fabling

he/she/it had been fabling

we had been fabling

you had been fabling

they had been fabling

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will fable

you will fable

he/she/it will fable

we will fable

you will fable

they will fable

Future continuous

I will be fabling

you will be fabling

he/she/it will be fabling

we will be fabling

you will be fabling

they will be fabling

Future perfect

I will have fabled

you will have fabled

he/she/it will have fabled

we will have fabled

you will have fabled

they will have fabled

Future perfect continuous

I will have been fabling

you will have been fabling

he/she/it will have been fabling

we will have been fabling

you will have been fabling

they will have been fabling

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would fable

you would fable

he/she/it would fable

we would fable

you would fable

they would fable

Conditional continuous

I would be fabling

you would be fabling

he/she/it would be fabling

we would be fabling

you would be fabling

they would be fabling

Conditional perfect

I would have fable

you would have fable

he/she/it would have fable

we would have fable

you would have fable

they would have fable

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been fabling

you would have been fabling

he/she/it would have been fabling

we would have been fabling

you would have been fabling

they would have been fabling

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you fable
we let´s fable
you fable

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to fable

Past participle

fabled

Present Participle

fabling

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «FABLE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «fable» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of fable

allegory · apologue · fabrication · fairy story · falsehood · fantasy · fib · fiction · figment · invention · legend · lie · myth · parable · romance · story · tale · tall story · untruth · urban legend · urban myth · white lie · yarn

TRANSLATION OF FABLE

Find out the translation of fable to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of fable from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «fable» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 寓言
• Translator English - Spanish: fábula
• English: fable
• Translator English - Hindi: कहानी
• Translator English - Arabic: حكاية
• Translator English - Russian: басня
• Translator English - Portuguese: fábula
• Translator English - Bengali: উপকথা
• Translator English - French: fable
• Translator English - Malay: Fabel
• Translator English - German: Fabel
• Translator English - Japanese: 寓話
• Translator English - Korean: 우화
• Translator English - Javanese: Dongeng
• Translator English - Vietnamese: tưởng tượng
• Translator English - Tamil: கட்டுக்கதை
• Translator English - Marathi: दंतकथा
• Translator English - Turkish: masal
• Translator English - Italian: favola
• Translator English - Polish: bajka
• Translator English - Ukrainian: байка
• Translator English - Romanian: fabulă
• Translator English - Greek: μύθο
• Translator English - Afrikaans: fabel
• Translator English - Swedish: fabel
• Translator English - Norwegian: fabel

7 QUOTES WITH «FABLE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word fable.

1

Joseph Conrad

There are men here and there to whom the whole of life is like an after-dinner hour with a cigar; easy, pleasant, empty, perhaps enlivened by some fable of strife to be forgotten - before the end is told - even if there happens to be any end to it.

2

Karen DeCrow

Despite the strength of the feminist movement in the 1970s and beyond, a fable has persisted that educated women are rejected as marriage partners.

3

Irwin Edman

It is a myth, not a mandate, a fable not a logic, and symbol rather than a reason by which men are moved.

4

Marie de France

Whosoever counts these Lays as fable, may be assured that I am not of his mind.

5

Yann Martel

The moral of a fable is eternal. The moral of a story is temporary to a story.

6

Ira Sachs

Suspense films are often based on communication problems, and that affects all of the plot points. It almost gives it kind of a fable feeling.

7

Gloria Vanderbilt

The minute that you bring a unicorn into a story, you know that it's a fairy tale or a fable, because unicorns don't exist as animals. They exist as fantasy creatures.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «FABLE»

Discover the use of fable in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to fable and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Fable: The Balverine Order

The interaction of player and game, the richness of the world, makes the franchise unusually appropriate for a tie-in novel and the novel will include an interactive element.

Peter David, 2010

Fable: The Balverine Order

The days of magic and adventure are fading away, giving way to the age of industry and science.

Peter David, 2010

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

The answers to these and many more questions are in this fascinating book. Here in one volume you can track down the stories behind the names and sayings you meet, whether in classic literature or today's news.

Elizabeth Knowles, 2006

A Fable

This novel won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 195.

William Faulkner, 2011

The Enlightenment's Fable: Bernard Mandeville and the ...

This book approaches this problem from the perspective of the challenge offered to inherited traditions of morality and social understanding by Bernard Mandeville, whose infamous paradoxical maxim "private vices, public benefits" profoundly ...

E. J. Hundert, 2005

Fable: Blood Ties

When it comes to blood, you can either spill it...or save it. Based on the worldwide video game phenomenon, this novel from the New York Times bestselling author includes a code to redeem for FABLE III Dye Pack.

Peter David, 2011

The Mystic Fable: The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

The culmination of de Certeau's lifelong engagement with the human sciences, this volume is both an analysis of Christian mysticism during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and an application of this influential scholar's ...

Michel de Certeau, 1995

Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding The Three ...

Praise for Getting Naked "I've experienced the 'naked' approach firsthand and can say withconfidence that this book will transform the way we view client service. I wish every one of my vendors would read it and follow its advice." —J.

Patrick M. Lencioni, 2009

A Froggy Fable

A little frog is upset when his simple life is changed by such things as other animals moving in nearby, but during an unexpected adventure away from the pond he learns that change can be good, after all.

John Lechner, 2005

The Fable of the Bees and Other Writings:

Although never censored, Bernard Mandeville's anonymously published The Fable of the Bees; or Private Vices, Public Benefits came to be regarded soon after its publication in 1723 as the Enlightenment's epitome of immorality.

Bernard Mandeville, E. J. Hundert, 1997

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «FABLE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term fable is used in the context of the following news items.

Fable Legends Will Get A Constant Stream of DLC After Launch

Lionhead have announced that their upcoming asymmetric multiplayer action adventure game, Fable Legends, will have a constant stream of ... «GamingBolt, Jul 15»

A fable

Not so long ago or far away, there was a kingdom where nothing ever happened. Or rather, nothing seemed to happen, for nobody took much ... «Arkansas Online, Jul 15»

Review: 'Aloft,' frustrating fable of miracles, tragedy

Review: 'Aloft,' frustrating fable of miracles, tragedy. Review: 'Aloft,' frustrating fable of miracles, tragedyJennifer Connelly and Cillian Murphy ... «The Detroit News, Jul 15»

Fable: The Wayside

Intel wasn't the only aspiring solid-state memory company to be founded in Santa Clara in 1968. Another company, founded by IBM-ers D. «ElectronicsWeekly.com, Jul 15»

Little Crane Depicts History of Japanese-American Soldiers in All …

The Little Crane and the Long Journey uses a fable about a family of cranes to depict the plight of Japanese Americans who volunteered for ... «Washington City Paper, Jul 15»

Fable Naturals' skincare products are wonderfully green and Fairtrade

It's tough to find a green skincare company that's Fairtrade, too, but this Vancouver-based company does a great job of doing both. Fable ... «Treehugger, Jul 15»

A Grateful Dead Fable: Back to the Fillmore

A Grateful Dead Fable: Back to the Fillmore. Articles · News · Grateful Dead. By Mitch Myers | July 03, 2015 2:10 PM EDT. Grateful Dead in 1970. Grateful Dead ... «Billboard, Jul 15»

Microsoft bringing Tomb Raider, Fable Legends, Halo 5 and more to …

Microsoft has just released their schedule for this year's San Diego Comic-Con and it looks like there's going to be a variety of Xbox-related ... «WinBeta, Jul 15»

Lionhead Assures Xbox One Exclusive Fable Legends Won't Be A …

Fable Legends, the next chapter in the Lionhead saga, is going to be free-to-play, something Fable fans are not used to. The English developer ... «Gamepur, Jul 15»

Fable Legends Microtransactions Won't Affect the Core Experience …

Often intrusive they can make or break the success of the game so it is important that a major release like Fable Legends isn't going to be held ... «SegmentNext, Jul 15»