Etymologically
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cable

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkeɪ.bəl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English cable, borrowed from Old Northern French cable (“large rope”), or through Anglo-Norman,[2][3][4] from Medieval Latin capulum (“lasso, rope, halter for cattle”),[2][3][5] from Latin capere “to take, seize”,[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grasp”).[2] Hoad mentions an Arabic ḥabl “rope” behind the Late Latin word, associated with capere, and notes that Middle Dutch and Middle Low German kabel may have reinforced the English word.[4] It is related to capture and captive.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A large, strong rope or chain used on a ship: probably before 1200 in Barnhart, in Layamon's Brut;[3] about 1205 in the OED.[6]

Semantic evolution

The anchor rope of a ship is a sense from about 1325,[6] and a cable's length became a unit of distance at sea in 1555.[6] The 19th century gave it new senses: a bundle of insulated wires for carrying electricity (1854) and for submarine telegraphy (about 1850),[3][4] which led to a telegraph message (1883), short for cablegram (1868).[3][2] The verb, to tie up with cables, is from about 1500,[3][2] and to send a message by cable from 1868–1871.[2][3] Cable television is attested by 1963, shortened to cable in the early 1970s.[2][3]

Timeline

  • a. 1200 – a strong rope, especially on a ship.[3]
  • c. 1325 – an anchor rope.[6]
  • c. 1500 – verb, to fasten with a cable.[3][2]
  • 1555 – cable's length.[6]
  • 1854 – an electric cable.[3]
  • 1868 – cablegram.[3][2]
  • 1883 – a message sent by cable.[3][2]
  • 1963 – cable television.[2][3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A thick, strong rope of fibre or steel wire.
  2. A bundle of insulated wires that carries electricity or signals.
  3. The heavy rope or chain used to hold a ship at anchor.
  4. A telegraph message sent by cable; a cablegram.
  5. cable television.

Verb

  1. To send a message to someone by cable.
  2. To fasten or provide with a cable or cables.

Word family

  • cabler
  • cablelike
  • cable-ready
  • cablecast
  • cablevision
  • monocable
  • recable
  • cablegram

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press