different between able vs material

English

Alternative forms

• (obsolete) hable

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?e?.bl?/, /?e?.b?l/
• Rhymes: -e?b?l
• Homophone: Abel

Etymology 1

From Middle English able, from Old Northern French able, variant of Old French abile, habile, from Latin habilis (“easily managed, held, or handled; apt; skillful”), from habe? (“have, possess”) +? -ibilis.

Adjective

able (comparative abler, superlative ablest)

1. (obsolete) Easy to use. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 18^th century.]
2. (obsolete) Suitable; competent. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 18^th century.]
3. (obsolete, dialectal) Liable to. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
4. Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
5. Free from constraints preventing completion of task; permitted to; not prevented from. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]

6. (obsolete, dialectal) Having the physical strength; robust; healthy. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]

7. (obsolete) Rich; well-to-do. [Attested from the mid 16^th century until the late 19^th century.]

8. Gifted with skill, intelligence, knowledge, or competence. [First attested in the mid 16^th century.]
9. (law) Legally qualified or competent. [First attested in the early 18^th century.]

10. (nautical) Capable of performing all the requisite duties; as an able seaman. [First attested in the late 18^th century.]

Usage notes

• In standard English, one is "able to do something". In some older texts representing various dialects, particularly Irish English, or black speech, "able for do something" is found instead, and in some Caribbean dialects "able with" is sometimes found.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:skillful

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English ablen, from Middle English able (adjective).

Verb

able (third-person singular simple present ables, present participle abling, simple past and past participle abled)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To make ready. [Attested from around (1150 to 1350) until the late 16^th century.]
2. (transitive, obsolete) To make capable; to enable. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 19^th century.]
3. (transitive, obsolete) To dress. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 15^th century.]
4. (transitive, obsolete) To give power to; to reinforce; to confirm. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 17^th century.]
5. (transitive, obsolete) To vouch for; to guarantee. [Attested from the late 16^th century until the early 17^th century.]

Derived terms

• abled

Translations

Etymology 3

From the first letter of the word. Suggested in the 1916 United States Army Signal Book to distinguish the letter when communicating via telephone, and later adopted in other radio and telephone signal standards.

Noun

able (uncountable)

1. (military) The letter "A" in Navy Phonetic Alphabet.

References

Anagrams

• Abel, Bale, Beal, Blea, Ebla, Elba, albe, bael, bale, beal, blea

French

Noun

able m (plural ables)

1. a vernacular name of the common bleak (usually called ablette)
2. a vernacular name of the sunbleak or moderlieschen, also called able de Heckel
3. (rare) a vernacular name of any of some other related fishes in the genus Alburnus (Cyprinidae)

Further reading

• “able” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• Abel, Bâle, béal, bêla

Old French

Alternative forms

• abile
• abille
• habile

Etymology

Latin habilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?a.bl?/

Adjective

able m (oblique and nominative feminine singular able)

1. able; capable

Declension

Descendants

• French: habile
  • ? Romanian: abil
• ? Middle Dutch: abel
  • Dutch: abel
• ? Middle English: able, habil
  • English: able, habile
    • ? Welsh: abl

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ebl/
• (South Scots) IPA^(key): /j?bl/

Adjective

able (comparative mair able, superlative maist able)

1. able, substantial, physically fit, strong, shrewd, cute
2. (obsolete) well-to-do, rich

English

Etymology

From Middle English material, from Late Latin m?teri?lis, from Latin m?teria (“wood, material, substance”), from m?ter (“mother”). Displaced native Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”) (from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”)).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /m??t??i.?l/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /m??t?????l/
• Hyphenation: ma?te?ri?al

Adjective

material (comparative more material, superlative most material)

1. Having to do with matter; consisting of matter.
   • 1913, Alfred Bowyer Sharpe, Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Evil

     the material elements of the universe

2. Worldly, as opposed to spiritual.

   Antonym: spiritual

3. (law, accounting) Significant.

   • discourse, which was always material, not trifling

   • I shall, in the account of simple ideas, set down only such as are most material to our present purpose.

   Antonym: immaterial

Synonyms

• (related to matter): See also Thesaurus:substantial
• (worldly): mundane
• (significant): See also Thesaurus:pertinent

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

material (countable and uncountable, plural materials)

2. Matter which may be shaped or manipulated, particularly in making something.
4. Text written for a specific purpose.

6. A sample or specimens for study.
8. Cloth to be made into a garment. Fabric.

   • Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. There was a great deal of them, lavish both in material and in workmanship.

10. The people collectively who are qualified for a certain position or activity.

12. Related data of various kinds, especially if collected as the basis for a document or book.
13. The substance that something is made or composed of.
14. (chess) All of a player's pieces and pawns on the chessboard.

Usage notes

• Sense 4 ("cloth" or "fabric") rather awkwardly uses material to refer to a holonym (or subgroup, or, in this case, a more specific iteration) of itself. "Fabric" or "cloth" are more specific (or put another way, less vague) choices of word than "material" when referring to a textile.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:material

Derived terms

Related terms

• matter

Translations

See also

• materiel

Verb

material (third-person singular simple present materials, present participle materialling, simple past and past participle materialled)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To form from matter; to materialize.
   • 1643, Thomas Browne, Religio Medici

     I believe that the whole frame of a beast doth perish, and is left in the same state after death as before it was materialled unto life.

Anagrams

• Armalite

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin materialis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /m?.t?.?i?al/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ma.te.?i?al/

Adjective

material (masculine and feminine plural materials)

1. material (clarification of this definition is needed)

Noun

material m (plural materials)

1. material (clarification of this definition is needed)

Related terms

• matèria

Further reading

• “material” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

From Latin materialis.

Noun

material

1. material

Declension

References

• Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajins?ko-kryms?kotatars?kyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]?^[2], Simferopol: Dolya, ?ISBN

Galician

Noun

material m (plural materiais)

1. material

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch materiaal, from Middle Dutch materiael, from Middle French material, from Old French material, from Latin m?teri?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ma.te?ri.al]
• Hyphenation: ma?té?ri?al

Noun

material (plural material-material, first-person possessive materialku, second-person possessive materialmu, third-person possessive materialnya)

1. material: matter which may be shaped or manipulated, particularly in making something.

Related terms

Further reading

• “material” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• materiel, materiall, materyal, materyall, matryal

Etymology

From Latin m?teri?lis; equivalent to matere +? -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mat?ri?a?l/, /ma?t?ri?a?l/, /ma?t??rial/, /mat?ri???l/, /ma?t??ri?l/

Adjective

material (plural and weak singular materiale)

1. Extant in matter or having physical form; material.
2. Not supernatural or spiritual; regular, conventional, worldly.
3. Being the physical attributes or properties of a thing.
4. Affecting or modifying physical matter or attributes.
5. (rare) Prominent, significant.

Descendants

• English: material

References

• “m??teri?l, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-12.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Late Latin materiale.

Noun

material n (definite singular materialet, indefinite plural material or materialer, definite plural materiala or materialene)

1. alternative form of materiale

Derived terms

• råmaterial

References

• “material” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin m?teri?lis, from Latin m?teria (“wood, material, substance”), from m?ter (“mother”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ma.te.?i.?aw/, /ma.te.??jaw/
• Hyphenation: ma?te?ri?al

Noun

material m (plural materiais)

1. material; stuff (the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object)
2. material (sample or specimens for study)
   1. footage (amount of film produced)
   2. (education) resources used in class
3. tackle; supplies; gear; rig (objects collected for use in a particular activity)

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:material.

Adjective

material m or f (plural materiais, comparable)

1. (chemistry) material (relating to or composed of matter)
2. (religion) material; worldly (relating to physical rather than spiritual matters)

   Synonym: terreno

3. (of a person, derogatory) materialistic; consumeristic (obsessed with consumer goods)

   Synonyms: materialista, consumista

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:material.

Derived terms

• materialismo
• materialista
• materialmente

Related terms

• matéria

Further reading

• “material” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Romanian

Etymology

From French matériel, from Latin materialis.

Noun

material n (plural materiali)

1. material

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

From Late Latin m?teri?lis.

Adjective

material (plural materiales)

1. material

Noun

material m (plural materiales)

1. material

Derived terms

• materialmente
• material particulado

Related terms

• materialismo
• materialista
• materia

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

material n

1. a material
2. a matter, a subject (of study)

Declension

Related terms

• bildmaterial
• forskningsmaterial
• informationsmaterial
• materialförvaltare
• materialism
• materialist
• materialkategori
• materialprovning
• materialtyp
• materiel
• materiell
• textmaterial
• tidningsmaterial

Further reading

• material in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)