vocable
Americannoun
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a word; term; name.
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a word considered only as a combination of certain sounds or letters, without regard to meaning.
adjective
noun
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any word, either written or spoken, regarded simply as a sequence of letters or spoken sounds, irrespective of its meaning
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a vocal sound; vowel
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vocable
1520–30; < Latin vocābulum a word, a name, equivalent to vocā ( re ) to call + -bulum noun suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Since Steam’s 1969 hit and “Hey Jude” both employ a common non-lexical vocable, it follows that sports fans in their home countries have adopted each for their own purposes.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
So similar to the Maya vocable Kaan, a tie, a rope; hence a clan: a number of people held together by the tie of parentage.
From Vestiges of the Mayas or, Facts Tending to Prove that Communications and Intimate Relations Must Have Existed, in very Remote Times, Between the Inhabitants of Mayab and Those of Asia and Africa by Augustus Le Plongeon
The vocable e is used to express strong emotion.
From The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai by Martha Warren Beckwith
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 Harry Leon Wilson
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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
