— fabler , n.
/fay"beuhl/ , n. , v. , fabled, fabling .
n.
1. a short tale to teach a moral lesson, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters; apologue: the fable of the tortoise and the hare; Aesop's fables.
2. a story not founded on fact: This biography is largely a self-laudatory fable.
3. a story about supernatural or extraordinary persons or incidents; legend: the fables of gods and heroes.
4. legends or myths collectively: the heroes of Greek fable.
5. an untruth; falsehood: This boast of a cure is a medical fable.
6. the plot of an epic, a dramatic poem, or a play.
7. idle talk: old wives' fables.
v.i.
8. to tell or write fables.
9. to speak falsely; lie: to fable about one's past.
v.t.
10. to describe as if actually so; talk about as if true: She is fabled to be the natural daughter of a king.
[ 1250-1300; ME fable, fabel, fabul fabula a story, tale, equiv. to fa ( ri ) to speak + -bula suffix of instrument ]
Syn. 1. See legend .