# able

Pronunciation: say "AY-buhl" /ˈeɪ.bl̩/

## Adjective

1. Having the power, skill, means, or freedom to do something; used mainly in be able to.
   - Simple: If you are able to do something, you can do it.
   - _The team was able to complete the bridge ahead of schedule despite budget cuts._
   - _With the new equipment, even small clinics are able to process samples quickly._
2. Talented and competent, with the skill, intelligence, or knowledge to do things well.
   - Simple: Having a lot of skill, intelligence, or knowledge.
   - _An able administrator, she turned the failing department around within a year._
   - _The firm assigned its ablest lawyers to the case._
3. Legally qualified or competent to perform an act with legal effect.
   - Simple: Allowed by law to do something, such as sign papers or own property.
   - _Under state law, anyone over eighteen is able to execute a binding contract._
   - _The judge ruled that the witness was able to testify despite her age._
4. Sound in body and physically strong; robust and in good health. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: Strong and healthy, with a lot of physical strength.

## Adjective

5. Suitable or competent; fit for a particular purpose or role. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Right or fit for a purpose or job.
6. Easy to use, handle, or wield. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Easy to use and simple to handle.
7. Rich and well-to-do; having ample money, land, or other property at one's command. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Rich, with plenty of money, land, or property.
8. Liable to something; likely to undergo or suffer it. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Likely to have something happen, often something bad.

## Verb

9. To make a person capable of something; to enable. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To give someone the power or skill to do something.
10. To give power to; to strengthen or reinforce; to confirm. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make a thing stronger, or to back it up as true.
11. To make ready; to prepare a person or thing for use or action. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To get a person or thing ready.
12. To vouch for a person or thing; to guarantee or warrant them. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To promise that a person or thing is good, honest, or true.
13. To dress a person; to put clothes on them. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To dress a person by putting clothes on them.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Capable of performing all the requisite duties of a position, as a sailor rated as an able seaman.
- (noun) In some military spelling alphabets used before 1956, the code word for the letter A.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–8** — It comes from Middle English able, borrowed via Old Northern French able (a variant of Old French abile, habile), from Latin habilis ("easily managed or handled; apt; skillful"), formed from habeō ("to have, possess") plus the suffix -ilis. The native Old English verb for being able, magan, survives as may, which developed a different meaning.
**Meanings 9–13** — From Middle English ablen, itself from the Middle English adjective able.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/able (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).