# cable

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkeɪ.bəl/ · frequency rank #2,776

## Definitions
1. A long object used to make a physical connection.
2. A long object used to make a physical connection.
3. A long object used to make a physical connection.
4. A long object used to make a physical connection.
5. A system for transmitting television or Internet services over a network of coaxial or fibreoptic cables.
6. A system for transmitting television or Internet services over a network of coaxial or fibreoptic cables.
7. A telegram, notably when sent by (submarine) telegraph cable.
8. A unit of length equal to one tenth of a nautical mile.
9. 100 fathoms, 600 imperial feet, approximately 185 m.
10. The currency pair British Pound against United States Dollar.
11. A moulding, shaft of a column, or any other member of convex, rounded section, made to resemble the spiral twist of a rope.
12. A textural pattern achieved by passing groups of stitches over one another.

## Etymology
Recorded since c.1205 as Middle English cable, from Old Northern French cable, from Late Latin capulum (“lasso, rope, halter”), from Latin capiō (“to take, seize”). Use of the term "cable" to refer to the USD/GBP exchange rate originated in the mid-19th century, when the exchange rate began to be transmitted across the Atlantic by a submarine communications cable.

## Easily confused with
- **cal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cal)
- **CBE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cbe)
- **care** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-care)
- **case** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-case)
- **call** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-call)
- **came** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-came)
- **calm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-calm)
- **cake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cake)
- **cape** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cape)
- **carl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-carl)
- **cave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cave)
- **cole** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cole)
- **cage** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cage)
- **cube** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cube)
- **cane** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cane)
- **café** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cafe)
- **calf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-calf)
- **Cali** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cali)
- **cabs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cabs)
- **cate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cable-vs-cate)

## Common misspellings (8)
`acble`, `cabble`, `cabel`, `cablle`, `calbe`, `cbale`, `ccable`, `cible`

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