a•ble
Pronunciation: (ā'bul), [key]
— adj., n. a•bler, a•blest,
—adj.
- having necessary power, skill, resources, or qualifications; qualified: able to lift a two-hundred-pound weight; able to write music; able to travel widely; able to vote.
- having unusual or superior intelligence, skill, etc.: an able leader.
- showing talent, skill, or knowledge: an able speech.
- legally empowered, qualified, or authorized.
—n.
- (usually cap.) a code word formerly used in communications to represent the letter A.
-able
- a suffix meaning “capable of, susceptible of, fit for, tending to, given to,” associated in meaning with the wordoccurring in loanwords from Latin (laudable); used in English as a highly productive suffix to form adjectives by addition to stems of any origin (teachable; photographable).
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.