vocable

American  

[voh-kuh-buhl] / ˈvoʊ kə bəl /

noun

1. a word; term; name.

2. a word considered only as a combination of certain sounds or letters, without regard to meaning.

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adjective

1. capable of being spoken.

vocable British  

/ ˈvəʊkəbəl /

noun

1. any word, either written or spoken, regarded simply as a sequence of letters or spoken sounds, irrespective of its meaning

2. a vocal sound; vowel

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adjective

1. capable of being uttered

Other Word Forms

• nonvocable adjective
• unvocable adjective
• vocably adverb

Etymology

Origin of vocable

1520–30; < Latin vocābulum a word, a name, equivalent to vocā ( re ) to call + -bulum noun suffix

Example Sentences

There is no such Saxon vocable as dare, to stare.

From Notes and Queries, Number 188, June 4, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by Various

We find ourselves before a Greek vocable reproduced in Tifinar.

From Atlantida by Benôit, Pierre

The philanthropic spectator suffers from no scarcity of words to express his particular attitude if he desires to do so; why then should he not leave socialists the enjoyment of their vocable?

From Contemporary Socialism by Rae, John

Nothing human was alien to him, nor inhuman, for he rejected as quite meaningless the latter vocable, as he rejected such clichés as "organic and inorganic."

From Unicorns by Huneker, James

The primitive vocable now conveyed a lively resentment, but there was the pleading of a patient sufferer in what followed.

From Somewhere in Red Gap by Wilson, Harry Leon

Related Words

• concept
• expression
• name
• phrase
• sound
• term