cable — ODE · Shobdo

cable /ˈkeɪbl

▸ noun

1 a thick rope of wire or hemp used for construction, mooring ships, and towing vehicles:

steel cables held the convoy together.

▪ the chain of a ship's anchor.

▪ Nautical a length of 200 yards (182.9 m) or (in the US) 240 yards (219.4 m):

he caught a glimpse of the mast, a cable or two downwind.

▪ short for cable stitch

▪ Architecture (also cable moulding) a moulding resembling twisted rope.

2 an insulated wire or wires having a protective casing and used for transmitting electricity or telecommunication signals:

an underground cable

[mass noun] transatlantic phone calls went by cable.

▪ a cablegram:

this was an occasion for using the telephone, not cables, teletexes, or letters.

I watch polo on cable.

▸ verb [with object]

1 send a message to (someone) by cablegram:

he cabled her to cancel all arrangements.

▪ transmit (a message) by cablegram:

the secretariat cabled a reply.

▪ [no object] send a cablegram:

have you got the drugs I cabled for?.

2 provide (an area) with power lines or with the equipment necessary for cable television:

nearly all urban areas are cabled, so viewers can choose from up to 20 channels.

3 Architecture decorate (a structure) with rope-shaped mouldings.

– ORIGIN Middle English: from an Anglo-Norman French variant of Old French chable, from late Latin capulum ‘halter’.