# ansible

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈæn.sɪ.bəl/ · frequency rank #82,043

## Definitions
1. A hypothetical device that enables users to communicate instantaneously across great distances; that is, a faster-than-light communication device.

## Etymology
Coined by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin in 1966 in her novella Rocannon's World; Le Guin states that she derived it from answerable. The word was further spread by its adoption into other science fiction worlds, including by Orson Scott Card in Ender's Game (1986), Vernor Vinge in The Blabber (1988) and Dan Simmons in Hyperion (1989).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ansible