vocable

[ voh-kuh-buh l ]
/ ˈvoʊ kə bəl /

noun

a word; term; name.
a word considered only as a combination of certain sounds or letters, without regard to meaning.

adjective

capable of being spoken.

Origin of vocable

1520–30; < Latin vocābulum a word, a name, equivalent to vocā(re) to call + -bulum noun suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM vocable

vo·ca·bly, adverb non·vo·ca·ble, adjective, noun un·vo·ca·ble, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for vocable

  • There was a vocable that occasioned me some perplexity—indeed a haze envelopes it still.

  • Suppose I have an idea to which I give utterance by the vocable 'skrkl,' claiming at the same time that it is true.

    The Meaning of Truth |William James
  • Often I had wished to test in speech the widely alleged merits of this vocable.

    Somewhere in Red Gap |Harry Leon Wilson
  • We find ourselves before a Greek vocable reproduced in Tifinar.

    Atlantida |Pierre Benoit

British Dictionary definitions for vocable

vocable
/ (ˈvəʊkəbəl) /

noun

any word, either written or spoken, regarded simply as a sequence of letters or spoken sounds, irrespective of its meaning
a vocal sound; vowel

adjective

capable of being uttered

Derived forms of vocable

vocably, adverb

Word Origin for vocable

C16: from Latin vocābulum a designation, from vocāre to call