SABLE

n. & adj. --n. 1 esp. poet. black. 2 (in pl.) mourning garments. 3 (in full sable antelope) a large stout-horned African antelope, Hippotragus niger, the males of which are mostly black in old age. --adj. 1 (usu. placed after noun) Heraldry black. 2 esp. poet. dark, gloomy. øøsabled adj. sably adv. [ME f. OF (in Heraldry): gen. taken to be identical with SABLE(1), although sable fur is dark brown]