Revised 2018 More entries for "vocable"

vocableadjective

Etymology
Meaning & use
Pronunciation
Frequency
Compounds & derived words

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Factsheet

What does the adjective vocable mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the adjective vocable, one of which is labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

See meaning & use

How common is the adjective vocable?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

1790	0.0049
1800	0.0041
1810	0.0035
1820	0.0031
1830	0.0023
1840	0.0013
1850	0.001
1860	0.0006
1870	0.0006
1880	0.0007
1890	0.0006
1900	0.0006
1910	0.0008
1920	0.0008
1930	0.0018
1940	0.002
1950	0.0021
1960	0.0023
1970	0.0024
1980	0.0023
1990	0.0026
2000	0.0016
2010	0.0014

See frequency

How is the adjective vocable pronounced?

British English

/ˈvəʊkəbl/

VOH-kuh-buhl

/ˈvɒkəbl/

VOCK-uh-buhl

U.S. English

/ˈvoʊkəb(ə)l/

VOH-kuh-buhl

/ˈvɑkəb(ə)l/

VAH-kuh-buhl

See pronunciation

Where does the adjective vocable come from?

Earliest known use

late 1700s

The earliest known use of the adjective vocable is in the late 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for vocable is from 1796, in the writing of R. Cotton.

vocable is a borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element.

Etymons: Latin vocāre, ‑ble suffix.

See etymology

Nearby entries

vo, n.1847–
vo., adv.1795–
VOA, n.1949–
Vo-Ag, n.1953–
voar, n.1629–
VOC, n.1980–
voc., adv.1695–1898
vocab, n.1836–
vocability, n.1827–
vocable, n.1440–
vocable, adj.1796–
vocably, adv.1649–
vocabula, n.1698
vocabular, n.1530–1659
vocabular, adj.1608–
vocabularian, adj. & n.1819–
vocabularize, v.1815–
vocabulary, n.1532–
vocabulary, adj.1616–
vocabulary book, n.1854–
vocabulary item, n.1916–

Browse more nearby entries

Etymology

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Compounds & derived words

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Entry history for vocable, adj.

vocable, adj. was revised in September 2018.

vocable, adj. was last modified in July 2023.

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into vocable, adj. in July 2023.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

OED First Edition (1920)

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OED Second Edition (1989)

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View vocable, a. in OED Second Edition

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Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .

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“” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, , .

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Citation details

Factsheet for vocable, adj.

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Nearby entries

vo, n.1847–
vo., adv.1795–
VOA, n.1949–
Vo-Ag, n.1953–
voar, n.1629–
VOC, n.1980–
voc., adv.1695–1898
vocab, n.1836–
vocability, n.1827–
vocable, n.1440–
vocable, adj.1796–
vocably, adv.1649–
vocabula, n.1698
vocabular, n.1530–1659
vocabular, adj.1608–
vocabularian, adj. & n.1819–
vocabularize, v.1815–
vocabulary, n.1532–
vocabulary, adj.1616–
vocabulary book, n.1854–
vocabulary item, n.1916–

Browse more nearby entries