stabile

[stey-bil, -buhl, -bahyl, stey-beel, -bahyl]

adjective

1. fixed in position; stable.

2. Medicine/Medical.,  resistant to physical or chemical changes.

noun

1. a piece of abstract sculpture having immobile units constructed of sheet metal, wire, or other material and attached to fixed supports.

stabile

/ ˈsteɪbaɪl /

noun

1. arts a stationary abstract construction, usually of wire, metal, wood, etc Compare mobile

adjective

1. fixed; stable

2. resistant to chemical change

Other Word Forms

• nonstabile adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stabile¹

1790–1800; < Latin: neuter of stabilis, equivalent to sta- (stem of stāre to stand ) + -bilis -ble

Word History and Origins

Origin of stabile¹

C18: from Latin stabilis

Example Sentences

His brightly colored twisting mobiles and gracefully hulking stabiles made him a titan of 20th-century art, often imitated but never equaled.

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His design included a stabile — a stationary work for the floor — and, suspended from the ceiling, one of his signature mobiles, its gentle rotation powered by a motor.

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“Nonspace” includes both mobiles — the term coined in 1931 by Marcel Duchamp to describe Calder’s kinetic sculptures that move in response to air currents and gravity — as well as their static cousins, stabiles.

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The award itself, the “Ellie,” is modeled on the “Elephant” stabile sculpture, designed by acclaimed American artist Alexander Calder.

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Jon Kessler, usually Mr. Mechanical, has three new pieces that are essentially airy stabiles dangling sweet found objects, as if they were collaborations by Calder and Dalí.

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Related Words

• balanced 
• calm 
• durable 
• fast 
• lasting 
• permanent 
• reliable 
• safe 
• secure 
• solid 
• steady 
• strong 
• substantial