having necessary power, skill, resources, or qualifications; qualified: able to lift a two-hundred-pound weight; able to write music; able to travel widely; able to vote.
2.
having unusual or superior intelligence, skill, etc.: an able leader.
3.
showing talent, skill, or knowledge: an able speech.
4.
legally empowered, qualified, or authorized.
–noun
5.
(usually initial capital letter) a code word formerly used in communications to represent the letter A.
[Origin: 1275–1325; ME < MF < L habilis handy, equiv. to hab(ére) to have, hold + -ilis-ile]
—Synonyms 1. fit, fitted. Able,capable,competent all mean possessing adequate power for doing something. Able implies power equal to effort required: able to finish in time. Capable implies power to meet or fulfill ordinary requirements: a capable worker. Competent suggests power to meet demands in a completely satisfactory manner: a competent nurse. 2. talented; skilled, clever, ingenious. 3. apt.
Having sufficient power or resources to accomplish something: a singer able to reach high notes; a detergent able to remove stains.
Usage Problem Susceptible to action or treatment: The brakes were able to be fixed.
Especially capable or talented.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin habilis, from habēre, to handle; see ghabh- in Indo-European roots.]
a'bly (ā'blē) adv.
Usage Note: The construction able to takes an infinitive to show the subject's ability to accomplish an action: We were able to get a grant for the project. The new submarine is able to dive twice as fast as the older model. Some people think it should be avoided when the subject does not have an ability, as in sentences with passive constructions involving forms of the verb be:The problem was able to be solved by using a new lab technique. The reasoning here is that since the problem has no ability to accomplish an action, it is not able to do anything, and therefore able to should not be used. Presumably this ban would apply to similar words like capable and to negative words like unable and incapable. In such cases one can usually avoid the problem by using can or could: The problem could be solved.... Keep in mind, however, that passives with get ascribe a more active role to their subjects, and here one can use able to:He was able to get accepted by a top law school.
c.1365, from O.Fr. (h)able, from L. habilis "easily handled, apt," verbal adj. from habere "to hold" (see habit). "Easy to be held," hence "fit for a purpose." The silent h- was dropped in Eng. and resisted academic attempts to restore it 16c.-17c., but some derivatives acquired it (e.g. habiliment, habilitate), via Fr. Able-bodied first attested 1622.
"Able-whackets - A popular sea-game with cards, in which the loser is beaten over the palms of the hands with a handkerchief tightly twisted like a rope. Very popular with horny-fisted sailors." [Smyth, "Sailor's Word-Book," 1867]
(usually followed by 'to') having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something; "able to swim"; "she was able to program her computer"; "we were at last able to buy a car"; "able to get a grant for the project" [ant: unable]
2.
have the skills and qualifications to do things well; "able teachers"; "a capable administrator"; "children as young as 14 can be extremely capable and dependable"
3.
having inherent physical or mental ability or capacity; "able to learn"; "human beings are able to walk on two feet"; "Superman is able to leap tall buildings"
4.
having a strong healthy body; "an able seaman"; "every able-bodied young man served in the army"
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This Main Entry: able Function: adjective 1: possessed of needed powers or of needed resources to accomplish an objective <able to perform under the contract> 2: having freedom from restriction or obligation or from conditions preventing an action <able to vote> 3: legally qualified : possessed of legal competence <able to inherit property>
ABLElanguage A simple language for accountants. ["ABLE, The Accounting Language, Programming and Reference Manual," Evansville Data Proc Center, Evansville, IN, Mar 1975]. [Listed in SIGPLAN Notices 13(11):56 (Nov 1978)]. (1994-11-08)
A"ble\, a. [Comp. Abler; superl. Ablest.] [OF. habile, L. habilis that may be easily held or managed, apt, skillful, fr. habere to have, hold. Cf. Habile and see Habit.]1. Fit; adapted; suitable. [Obs.] A many man, to ben an abbot able. --Chaucer. 2. Having sufficient power, strength, force, skill, means, or resources of any kind to accomplish the object; possessed of qualifications rendering competent for some end; competent; qualified; capable; as, an able workman, soldier, seaman, a man able to work; a mind able to reason; a person able to be generous; able to endure pain; able to play on a piano. 3. Specially: Having intellectual qualifications, or strong mental powers; showing ability or skill; talented; clever; powerful; as, the ablest man in the senate; an able speech. No man wrote abler state papers. --Macaulay. 4. (Law) Legally qualified; possessed of legal competence; as, able to inherit or devise property. Note: Able for, is Scotticism. "Hardly able for such a march." --Robertson. Syn: Competent; qualified; fitted; efficient; effective; capable; skillful; clever; vigorous; powerful.
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