noun · femininefirst declension
fābula1
fābula f (genitive fābulae)
Classical[ˈfaː.bʊ.ɫa]Ecclesiastical[ˈfaː.bu.la]
№ 966 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- discourse, narrative
- a fable, tale, story
- a play
- concern, matter
- romance
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
quod nārrātur: dē deīs hominibusque; vēra nōn est, sed docet.fābula -ae f — in Mille Verba, Artēs et Litterae
story
fābula -ae — in Viri Romae Facillimi, ch. 1, 5, 10, 11, 15
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | fābula fābella | fābulae fābellae |
| genitive | fābulae fābellae | fābulārum fābellārum |
| dative | fābulae fābellae | fābulīs fābellīs |
| accusative | fābulam fābellam | fābulās fābellās |
| ablative | fābulā fābellā | fābulīs fābellīs |
| vocative | fābula fābella | fābulae fābellae |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- fabula cadit
- a piece is a failure, falls flat.
- fabulam dare
- to produce a play (of the writer).
- fabulam agere
- to act a play (said of the actors).
- fabulam edere
- to bring out a play, put it on the stage (used of the man who finds the money).
- fabulam fieri
- to be the talk of the town, a scandal.
- narratio, fabula
- a narrative, tale, story.
- haec fabula docet
- this fable teaches us (without nos).
- scriptor fabularum
- a writer of fables.
7 more phrases
- fabula, ludus scaenicus
- the piece; the play.
- fabulae, historia fabularis
- mythology.
- ut a fabulis ad facta veniamus
- to pass from myth to history.
- fabulam exigere (Ter. Andr. Pol.)
- to hiss a play.
- narratiuncula, fabella (Fin. 5. 15)
- an anecdote.
- tragoedia or fabula Antigona (not Antigona trag. or fab.)
- the Antigone.
- fabulam docere (διδάσκειν) (of the writer) (opp. fabulam discere—to study a piece, of the actor)
- to get a piece played, rehearse it.
fābŭla, ae, f. fari,
I. a narration, narrative, account, story; the subject of common talk.
I. In gen. (mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose;
syn.: narratio, fasti, annales, res gestae, historia): additur fabulae, quo vulgo Sabini aureas armillas brachio laevo habuerint, pepigisse eam, etc., Liv. 1, 11, 8: poëticae (opp. incorrupta rerum gestarum monumenta), id. praef. § 6: Ummidius, qui tam (non longa est fabula) dives, ut, etc., Hor. S. 1, 1, 95; id. Ep. 1, 2, 6: mutato nomine de te fabula narratur, id. S. 1, 1, 70: asinaeque paternum Cognomen vertas in risum et fabula flas, the common talk, town's talk, id. Ep. 1, 13, 9; cf.: heu me, per urbem Fabula quanta fui! id. Epod. 11, 8: fabula (nec sentis) tota jactaris in urbe, you are talked of all over the city, Ov. Am. 8, 1, 21; cf. Suet. Aug. 70; id. Dom. 15; Mart. 3, 14: habes omnes fabulas urbis, Plin. Ep. 8, 18, 11: nova fabula, the news, Juv. 1, 145: semper formosis fabula poena fuit, Prop. 2, 32, 26 (3, 30, 26 M.): a diverticulo repetatur fabula, let us return to our story, Juv. 15, 72.—B. Transf., conversation (post-Aug.):
ut fabulas quoque eorum et disputationes et arcana semotae dictionis penitus exciperem, conversations, Tac. Or. 2: praeceptores cum auditoribus suis fabulas habent, id. ib. 29; cf.: cum inter fabulas privatas sermo esset ortus, quanti, etc., in private conversation, Lampr. Heliog. 25.—With a dependent clause: ne id accidat, quod cuipiam Thraco venisse usu, fabula est, is related, Gell. 19, 12, 6.—2. In vulg. lang. (like the Germ. Geschichte), affair, concern, matter:
sed quid ego aspicio? quae haec fabula'st? what sort of an affair is this? Plaut. Pers. 5, 2, 11; Ter. And. 4, 4, 8.II. In partic. (freq. and class.), a fictitious narrative, a tale, story (syn.: apologus, narratio): narrationum tris accepimus species, fabulam, quae versatur in tragoediis atque carminibus non a veritate modo, sed etiam a forma veritatis remota, argumentum ... historiam, etc., Quint. 2, 4, 2:
haec res agetur nobis, vobis fabula, Plaut. Capt. prol. 52: peregrino narrare fabulas, id. Men. 5, 1, 24: num igitur me cogis etiam fabulis credere? quae delectationis habeant quantum voles ... auctoritatem quidem nullam debemus nec fidem commenticiis rebus adjungere, etc., Cic. Div. 2, 55, 113; cf.: fictis fabulis, id. Mil. 3, 8: antiquitas recepit fabulas, fictas etiam nonnumquam incondite, id. Rep. 2, 10; cf.: a fabulis ad facta venire, id. ib. 2, 2 fin.: minor fabulis habetur fides, id. ib. 2, 10: saepe fabulis fidem firmare (consuerant), Suet. Rhet. 1 med.; Liv. praef. § 6: non fabula rumor Ille fuit, Ov. M. 10, 561: fabulam inceptat, Ter. And. 5, 4, 22: quid tamen ista velit sibi fabula, ede, Hor. S. 2, 5, 61: fabulae! mere stories! stuff! nonsense! Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 95; id. And. 1, 3, 19: ne convivialium fabularum simplicitas in crimen duceretur, Tac. A. 6, 11 fin.: sufficiunt duae fabulae, an tertiam poscis? Plin. Ep. 2, 20, 9.—In apposition: jam te premet nox fabulaeque Manes (= fabulosi, inanes), Hor. C. 1, 4, 16: civis et manes et fabula fies, Pers. 5, 152: nos jam fabula sumus, Ter. Hec. 4, 3, 14.—So of idle tales: ineptas et aniles fabulas devita, Vulg. 1 Tim. 4, 7 al.—B. Of particular kinds of poetry.
1. Most freq., a dramatic poem, drama, play (syn.:
ludus, cantus, actio, etc.): in full, fabula scaenica, Amm. 28, 1, 4; or, theatralis, id. 14, 6, 20: fabula ad actum scenarum composita, Quint. 5, 10, 9; cf. id. 11, 3, 73 sq.: Livianae fabulae non satis dignae, quae iterum legantur. Atque hic Livius primus fabulam, C. Clodio Caeci filio et M. Tuditano Cos. docuit, produced, Cic. Brut. 18, 72; v. doceo, II. init.; cf.: fabulam dare, under do, II. H.; so, facere, Varr. L. L. 5, 8: neque histrioni ut placeat, peragenda fabula est, Cic. de Sen. 19, 70: securus, cadat an recto stet fabula talo, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 176: neve minor neu sit quinto productior actu Fabula, id. A. P. 190: M. Pacuvii nova fabula, Cic. Lael. 7, 24: Terentii, Hor. S. 1, 2, 21: Attae, id. Ep. 2, 1, 80 et saep.: in fabulis stultissima persona, Cic. Lael. 26, 100 et saep.— Transf.: non solum unum actum, sed totam fabulam confecissem, Cic. Phil. 2, 14, 34.—2. A fable (cf. apologus):
fabularum cur sit inventum genus Brevi docebo, etc., Phaedr. 3, prol. 33: quae (res) vel apologum, vel fabulam vel aliquam contineat irrisionem, Cic. Inv. 1, 17, 25: nota illa de membris humanis adversus ventrem discordantibus fabula, Quint. 5, 11, 19 (shortly before, fabella) et saep.—Prov.: Lupus in fabula (like the Engl., talk of the devil, and he will appear), of a person who comes just as we are talking about him, Ter. Ad. 4, 1, 21; Cic. Att. 13, 33, 4; so, lupus in sermone, Plaut. Stich. 4, 1, 71.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
fābula ae, f
1 FA-, a narration, narrative , account, story, tale : poëticae, L.: longa, H.: de te Fabula narratur, H.: et fabula fias, the common talk , H.: volgaris, O.: nova, news , Iu.: a diverticulo repetatur fabula, let us return to our story , Iu.: fabulae conviviales, conversation , Ta. — An affair, concern, matter, talk : quam mihi surdo narret fabulam, how deaf I am to his talk , T.: quae haec est fabula? what does this mean? T.— A fictitious narrative, tale, story, fiction, fable : ut ad fabulas veniamus: fabulis credere: a fabulis ad facta venire: non fabula rumor Ille fuit, O.: fabulae! tales! T.: fabulae Manes (i. e. fabulosi), H.— A dramatic poem, drama, play : in primā fabulā, when the play opens , T.: primus fabulam docuit: Securus, cadat an stet fabula, H.: neu sit quinto productior actu Fabula, H.: in fabulis persona.— A fable, story with a lesson : fabularum genus, Ph.: quae (res) vel apologum, vel fabulam contineat.—Prov.: Lupus in fabulā, talk of the devil (of a person who comes while talked about), T.— A plot, action, story (of a play or poem), H.
Origins
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰéh₂ti
- Proto-Italic*fāōr
- Latinfābula
Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlomder. Latin -bula Latin fābula From for, fā- (“to speak, say”) + -bula (instrument noun suffix).
Elsewhere
- Catalanfàbula
- Englishfabula
- Italianfabula
- Portuguesefábula
- Romanianfabulă
- Spanishfábula
- Albanianfjalë
- Galicianfábula
- Icelandicfabúla
- Irishfabhal
Italo-Romance
- Italianfavola
- Italianfiaba
- Italianfola
Gallo-Romance
- Catalanfaula
- Occitanfabla
- Occitanfaula
- Bourguignonfaule
Insular Romance
- Sardinianfabula
- Sardinianfaba
Ibero-Romance
- Portuguesefalafrom Old Galician-Portuguese fala
- Spanishhablafrom Old Spanish fabla
- Aragonesefabla
- Aragonesefàula
- Falafalafrom Old Galician-Portuguese fala
- Galicianfalafrom Old Galician-Portuguese fala
- Asturianfala
- Asturianfabla
- Asturianḥabla
- Extremaduranfala
Balkano-Romance
- Romanianfaulă
Rhaeto-Romance
- Friulianfaule
- Friulianflabe
Gallo-Italic
- Ligurianföa
- Piedmontesefàula
In English words that came into English from fābula
- fablefābula
- fabulousfābulōsus
- fabulosityfabulositas
- fabularfābulāris
- fabulatefābulātus
- fabellafābella