I. ˈstābəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French estable, from Latin stabulum, from stare to stand — more at stand
1. : a building or part of a building in which domestic animals are lodged and fed ; especially : such a building having stalls or compartments
the horse stable is in the main barn, the cow stable is separate
2.
a. : a group of racing horses under one ownership or management ; also : the horses of such a group or the persons concerned with the ownership, operation, or management of such a group
b. : a group or staff of people (as artists, comedians, speakers, writers) engaged to contribute their services or perform when called upon : pool:
(1) : a group of athletes (as boxers or tennis players) under the direction of a single manager
(2) : a group of prostitutes working for a pimp
c. : a group of things under a single ownership or management
a stable of publications
a stable of racing cars
a stable of five suits — Mel Watkins
3. stables plural
a. : military duty in the stables
b. : the bugle call to such duty
II. verb
( stabled ; stabled ; stabling -b(ə)liŋ ; stables )
Etymology: Middle English stablen, from Middle French establer, from Latin stabulare, from stabulum
transitive verb
: to put or keep (as animals) in a stable : house
horses and cows were stabled on the lower floor — American Guide Series: North Carolina
garage … redesigned to stable neighborhood Cadillacs — Newsweek
intransitive verb
: to dwell in or as if in a stable
III. adjective
( often stabler -b(ə)lə(r) ; often stablest -b(ə)lə̇st)
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French estable, from Latin stabilis, from stare to stand + -abilis -able — more at stand
1.
a. : firmly established : not easily moved, shaken, or overthrown : solid , fixed , steadfast
so long upon the moving, rocking sea that the stable land was a shock to us — Jack London
the sawmill village with sawdust streets became a stable community and was incorporated as a city — American Guide Series: Michigan
dictatorship always appears stable — Christian Science Monitor
stable habits
a stable theory
b. : not subject to sudden change : subject to relatively limited fluctuation : durable , unvarying
stable currency
a stable economy
a general trend toward a stable population, rather than one that will continue to increase — K.F.Mather
some industries are quite stable inasmuch as no basic changes in technique occur for a long period of time — E.B.Alderfer & H.E.Michl
a relatively stable society, where class mobility is reasonably low, where the individual remains, both physically and socially, in the place in which he was born — Leslie Cheek
the personnel of the Supreme Court remained relatively stable — R.K.Carr
c. : abiding , enduring , persisting , permanent
a stable peace
your name will travel widely over the world, but will have no stable habitation — J.A.Froude
2.
a. : steady in purpose : firm in resolution
b. : not subject to insecurity or emotional illness : sane , rational
a stable personality
many boys are not emotionally stable and, as a result, behave in a way that makes some adults believe them to be retarded — H.A.Delp
3.
a. : placed so as to resist forces tending to cause motion or change of motion : designed so as to develop forces that restore the original condition when disturbed from a condition of equilibrium or steady motion
an airplane is stable if, when it is disturbed from a balanced condition of flight (whether level, climbing or gliding), its tendency is to return to that condition — Skyways
b. : of such structure as to resist distortion
c.
(1) : not readily decomposing or changing otherwise in chemical composition or biological activity (as spontaneously or under the influence of heat, acid, or alkali)
penicillin … is stable at a point about neutrality — American Scholar
(2) : not readily changing in physical state or properties
a stable emulsion
a stable substance never changes spontaneously into a metastable one — Samuel Glasstone
(3) : not spontaneously radioactive or observably so
a stable isotope
a stable nucleus