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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary fa·ble
ETYMOLOGY Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin fabula conversation, story, play, from fari to speak — more at ban DATE 14th century : a fictitious narrative or statement: as a. a legendary story of supernatural happenings b. a narration intended to enforce a useful truth; especially : one in which animals speak and act like human beings c. falsehood , lie
verb DATE 14th century intransitive verb archaic : to tell fables transitive verb : to talk or write about as if true English Etymology fable c.1300, from O.Fr . fable, from L. fabula "story, play, fable," lit."that which is told," from fari "speak, tell," from PIE base *bha-"speak" (see fame). Sense of "animal story" comes from Aesop. In modern folklore terms, defined as "a short, comic tale making a moral point about human nature, usually through animal characters behaving in human ways." Most trace to Greece or India.http://O.Fr Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 fable fable / 5feibl / noun1. [C, U] a traditional short story that teaches a moral lesson, especially one with animals as characters; these stories considered as a group 寓言；寓言故事: Aesop's Fables 伊索寓言 a land rich in fable 寓言之乡 2. [U, C] a statement, or an account of sth, that is not true 谎言；不实之词；无稽之谈 OLT fable noun ⇨ legend 1 Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged fa·ble I. \ˈfābəl\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin fabula conversation, narrative, tale, play, fable, from fari to speak, say — more at fame 1. : a fictitious narrative or statement : an invented tale : fiction: as a. : untruth , falsehood < the fables and misrepresentations of this pamphlet > b. : a story of supernatural or highly marvelous happenings (as in legend, myth, or folklore) c. : a narration intended to enforce some useful truth or precept; especially : one in which animals and even inanimate objects speak and act like human beings < the fable of the fox in the barnyard > — see beast fable d. : casual, idle, or foolish report or talk < old wives' fables > broadly : common talk 2. a. : a subject of fable : something (as a mysterious event) productive of fabulous accounts or explanations; broadly : a theme of popular talk and speculation < he became the chief fable of the village > b. : a product of fable : something having reality only in fabulous accounts < if personal immortality is not a fable > 3. : the plot, story, or connected series of events forming the theme of a literary work (as an epic poem or play) Synonyms: see allegory , fiction II. verb (fabled ; fabled ; fabling \-b(ə)liŋ\ ; fables) Etymology: Middle English fablen, from Middle French fabler, from Latin fabulari to talk, from fabula intransitive verb 1. a. : to compose or tell fictitious tales b. obsolete : to talk idly 2. archaic : to write or speak what is not true : utter falsehoods : lie transitive verb : to devise and recount as if real : report as if literally true < it is fabled that Norsemen built the tower > < the bird of paradise was fabled to have no feet > < how he fell from Heaven they fabled — John Milton > |
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