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

The same vocable is preserved to our day in the name borne by one of the provinces of Persia, Khouzistan.

From A History of Art in Chaldæa & Assyria, v. 1 by Armstrong, Walter, Sir

The initial i in the particle -ile often affects the last or penultimate syllable of the verbal root, thereby causing one of the very rare changes which take place in this vocable.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3 "Banks" to "Bassoon" by Various

I regret to see that vile and barbarous vocable talented, stealing out of the newspapers into the leading reviews and most respectable publications of the day.

From Specimens of the Table Talk of Samuel Taylor Coleridge by Coleridge, Henry Nelson

Ideas breed vocables; but seldom, except among rhymesters, does a vocable give birth to a popular idea: and in Arabic “Sibr,” as well as “Sabr,” is the name of the Aloe.

From Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah — Volume 2 by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir

In Chapter XVIII, "the seequipedalian Hellenic vocable" was changed to "the sesquipedalian Hellenic vocable".

From A Cadet's Honor Mark Mallory's Heroism by Sinclair, Upton

Related Words

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