n. & v.
--n.
1. a thick rope of wire or hemp.
2 an encased group of insulated wires for transmitting electricity or electrical signals.
3 a cablegram.
4 a Naut. the chain of an anchor. b a measure of 200 yards.
5 (in full cable stitch) a knitted stitch resembling twisted rope.
6 Archit. a rope-shaped ornament.
--v.
1. a tr. transmit (a message) by cablegram. b tr. inform (a person) by cablegram. c intr. send a cablegram.
2 tr. furnish or fasten with a cable or cables.
3 Archit. tr. furnish with cables.
Phrases and idioms:
cable-car
1. a small cabin (often one of a series) suspended on an endless cable and drawn up and down a mountainside etc. by an engine at one end.
2 a carriage drawn along a cable railway. cable-laid (of rope) having three triple strands. cable railway a railway along which carriages are drawn by an endless cable. cable television a broadcasting system with signals transmitted by cable to subscribers' sets.
Etymology: ME f. OF chable, ult. f. LL capulum halter f. Arab. habl