noun
fable
FAY-buhl
noun
1
A short story, often with animal characters, written to teach a moral lesson.
"Aesop's fable of the tortoise and the hare teaches that patience beats speed."
"She grew up on a diet of fairy tales and fables."
2
A made-up story or claim; something untrue.
"His account of the battle was mostly fable, invented to make himself look brave."
verb
1
To make up and tell a story as though it were true.
"The old sailor loved to fable about sea monsters he had supposedly fought."
How to Use Fable
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA short teaching-story (often with talking animals) or, more loosely, any made-up tale.
Common mistake
A fable teaches a moral lesson; a myth explains the origins of the world or gods; a legend is presented as historical fact. Don't use them interchangeably.
Common pairings
a moral fable
fables and legends
the fable goes that
Word Forms
fabled past tense, fables plural, fables singular
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Aesop's _____ of the tortoise and the hare teaches that patience beats speed.
Etymology
From Old French fable, from Latin fabula ("story"), rooted in fari, "to speak" — the same root gives us "fame" and "affable".