different between canine vs -able

English

Etymology

From Latin can?nus (“of dogs, dog-like”), from canis (“dog”). Compare French canin.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: k??n?n, ka?n?n, (rare) k?-n?n?, IPA^(key): /?ke?na?n/, /?kæna?n/, (rare) /k??na?n/
• (General American) enPR: k??n?n', (rare) k?-n?n?, IPA^(key): /?ke??na?n/, (rare) /k??na?n/
• Rhymes: -e?na?n, -æna?n, -a?n
• Homophone: K9
• Hyphenation: ca?nine

Adjective

canine (not comparable)

1. Of, or pertaining to, a dog or dogs.
   • 1913, Sax Rohmer, The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, ch. 8,

     We carried the dog round to the yard, and I examined his head. . . . I accepted the care of the canine patient.

   • 2005, Gareth Roberts, Only Human, page 17

     A lost dog sniffed around the flower beds wishing it had some canine company […]

2. Dog-like.
   • 1891, Arthur Quiller-Couch, "The Affair of Bleakirk-on-Sands," Noughts & Crosses,

     In many respects she made me an admirable wife. Her affection for me was canine—positively.

3. (anatomy) Of or pertaining to mammalian teeth which are cuspids or fangs.
   • 1872, Charles Darwin, Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals, ch. 10,

     Then his upper lip may be seen to be raised, especially at the corners, so that his huge canine teeth are exhibited.

4. (medicine, obsolete) Of an appetite: depraved or inordinate; used to describe eating disorders.

Synonyms

• (of dogs): dogly, houndly
• (dog-like): dogly, doglike, houndly

Translations

Noun

canine (plural canines)

1. Any member of Caninae, the only living subfamily of Canidae.
2. (formal) Any of certain extant canids regarded as similar to the dog or wolf (including coyotes, jackals, etc.) but distinguished from the vulpines, which are regarded as fox-like.
   • 2010, M. S. Mititch, The Spychip Conspiracy, page 189

     The canine ran across the room to the open window, put his front paws on the sill and pointed his nose at the sidewalk below.

3. In heterodont mammals, the pointy tooth between the incisors and the premolars; a cuspid.
   • 2006, Amy Sutherland, Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched: Life and Lessons at the World's Premier School for Animal Trainers

     He tried to push Kissu into his cage, but the cougar charged back out and sank his canines into Wilson's rump.

4. (poker slang) A king and a nine as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em due to phonetic similarity.
   • 2005, Dennis Purdy, The Illustrated Guide to Texas Hold'em, page 270

     You have been dealt King-9 unsuited ("canine") in your pocket.

Synonyms

• (dog or wolf): dog
• (pointy tooth): cuspid

Derived terms

• caninoid

Translations

See also

• lupine
• vulpine
• Canini (tribe within subfamily Caninae)
• cain

References

• Weisenberg, Michael (2000) The Official Dictionary of Poker. MGI/Mike Caro University. ?ISBN

Anagrams

• neanic

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.nin/

Adjective

canine

1. feminine singular of canin.

Noun

canine f (plural canines)

1. canine, cuspid.

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• ancien

Italian

Adjective

canine

1. feminine plural of canino

Latin

Adjective

can?ne

1. vocative masculine singular of can?nus

English

Alternative forms

• -ible (not productive)

Etymology

• From Middle English -able, borrowed from Old French -able, from Latin -?bilis, from -a- or -i- + -bilis (“capable or worthy of being acted upon”), from Proto-Indo-European i-stem form *-d?li- of *-d?lom (“instrumental suffix”).
• Not closely related etymologically, though currently related semantically, to able.
• Displaced native Old English -endl?c.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?.bl?/

Suffix

-able

1. An adjectival suffix; forms adjectives meaning:
   1. Able to be done; fit to be done.

      movable: able to be moved

      amendable: able to be amended

      breakable: liable to broken

      blamable: fit to be blamed

      salable: fit to be sold

   2. Relevant to or suitable to, in accordance with.

      fashionable: relevant to fashion

      seasonable: suitable to season

   3. Giving, or inclined to.

      pleasurable: giving pleasure

      peaceable: inclined to peace

   4. Subject to.

      reportable: subject to be reported

      taxable: subject to be taxed

   5. Due to be.

      payable: due to pay

Usage notes

• Originally used only on French and Latin words, like separable. Over time -able was added to stems of English verbs ending in -ate, such as educable. Finally, due to probable confusion with the word able, it was used to form adjectives from all sorts of verbs, nouns, and even verb phrases, such as kickable, get-at-able, and hittable.
• While a terminal silent -e is usually dropped when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel, which is followed by -able, the -e is not dropped when adding -able if the root ends with a soft -ce and -ge, as in replaceable and changeable, so that these are not misinterpreted as hard ‘c’ or ‘g’ sounds. This same rule is used for -ous, as in courageous.
• As when adding the suffix -ed, a final consonant of a root should be doubled if the preceding vowel is short and (in British English) stressed.
• The form -ible has the same senses and pronunciation. The choice between the two is somewhat idiosyncratic, but in general, -ible is used in forms derived from Latin verbs of the second, third, and fourth conjugations, and in a few words whose roots end in a soft c or g, while -able is used in all other such words, particularly those formed from Latin verbs of the first conjugation and those that come from French or from Anglo-Saxon (Old English). Fowler's English Usage recommends using -ible for simplicity's sake in any word whose root ends in a soft c or g to avoid -eable (e.g., *changible rather than changeable), but this recommendation has generally not been followed.
• A number of adjectives in -able come from verbs that do not have direct objects, but that rather are construed with prepositions. In these cases, the preposition does not appear with the adjective in -able; hence, reliable (“fit to being relied on”), laughable (“suited for laughing at”), remarkable (“fit to be remarked upon”), and so on.
• Traditionally, verbs ending in -ate drop this suffix before adding -able; hence, communicable (“able to be communicated”), eradicable (“possible to eradicate”), implacable (“unable to be placated”), inimitable (“unable to imitate”), and so on, but relatable, because relate is re- + -late, not rel- + -ate. Logically one should therefore say rotable to mean "able to be rotated", but rotatable has become accepted.
• There are cases where a word with un- -able is much more common than one with just -able, such as unbreakable, unsinkable, and untouchable.

Derived terms

Related terms

• able
• ability
• -ability
• -worthy

Translations

Anagrams

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

Catalan

Etymology

From Old Occitan, from Latin -?bilis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /?-a.bl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /?-a.ble/

Suffix

-able (masculine and feminine plural -ables)

1. -able

Usage notes

This suffix is used for verbs of the first conjugation, which end in -ar and are the most common. For other verbs, the suffix is -ible.

Derived terms

French

Etymology

From Middle French -able, from Old French -able, from Latin -?bilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /abl/

Suffix

-able (plural -ables)

1. -able

Galician

Alternative forms

• -ábel

Etymology

From Latin -?bilis.

Suffix

-able

1. -able

Derived terms

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French -able, from Latin -?bilis.

Suffix

-able (plural -ables)

1. -able

Descendants

• French: -able

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• -abel
• -abelt

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???bl?/
• Rhymes: -??bl?
• Hyphenation: ab?le

Suffix

-able

1. singular definite & plural form of -abel

Anagrams

• bale, bela

Old French

Etymology

From Latin -?bilis.

Suffix

-able (plural -ables)

1. worthy of, deserving of

   ?honorer (“to honor”) + ?-able ? ?honnorable (“honorable”)

2. -ing, creating an effect, an influence

   ?forsener (“to become insane or enraged”) + ?-able ? ?forsenable (“maddening”)

Descendants

• ? Middle English: -able
  • English: -able
• Middle French: -able
  • French: -able

Spanish

Etymology

From Old Spanish, from Latin -?bilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?able/, [?a.??le]

Suffix

-able (plural -ables)

1. -able

Derived terms