cable

Meaning

Noun

1. (material) A long object used to make a physical connection.
2. (material) A long object used to make a physical connection.
3. (material) A long object used to make a physical connection.
4. (material) A long object used to make a physical connection.
5. A system for transmitting television or Internet services over a network of coaxial or fibreoptic cables.
6. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) A system for transmitting television or Internet services over a network of coaxial or fibreoptic cables.
7. A telegram, notably when sent by (submarine) telegraph cable.
8. A unit of length equal to one tenth of a nautical mile.
9. 100 fathoms, 600 imperial feet, approximately 185 m.
10. The currency pair British Pound against United States Dollar.
11. A moulding, shaft of a column, or any other member of convex, rounded section, made to resemble the spiral twist of a rope.
12. A textural pattern achieved by passing groups of stitches over one another.

Verb

1. (transitive) To provide (something) with cable(s).
2. (transitive) To fasten (something) (as if) with cable(s).
3. (transitive) To wrap (wires) to form a cable.
4. (transitive) To send (a telegram, news, etc.) by cable.
5. (intransitive) To communicate by cable.
6. (transitive) To ornament (something) with cabling.
7. (intransitive) To create cable stitches.

Synonyms

wire

rope

🪢

hawser

cord

telegraph

cable television

cablegram

telegram

line

chain

cable length

string

🪢

overseas telegram

twine

cable’s length

mooring cable

cable television service

strand

cable system

transmission line

store

lodge

dispatch

thick rope

deposit

steel wire rope

electric wire

hand in

wire rope

electric cable

file

steel rope

cable-moulding

chain length

long rope

send a cable

send a telegrame

head rope

electrical conduit

steel strand rope

steel stranded wire

steel strand

steel wires

alone

cables length

bond

bridle

cableway

chain cable

chain link

Translations

câble

cable

Kabel

cavo

kabel

cable

kablo

cabo

tros

Seil

🪢

telegrafare

καλώδιο

câbler

encablure

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkeɪ.bəl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: cable

In summary

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.