What is "able"

Able \A"ble\, a. [comp. Abler; superl. Ablest.] [OF. habile, L. habilis that may be easily held or managed, apt, skillful, fr. habere to have, hold. Cf. Habile and see Habit.]

1. Fit; adapted; suitable. [Obs.]

   A many man, to ben an abbot able.
   --Chaucer.

2. Having sufficient power, strength, force, skill, means, or resources of any kind to accomplish the object; possessed of qualifications rendering competent for some end; competent; qualified; capable; as, an able workman, soldier, seaman, a man able to work; a mind able to reason; a person able to be generous; able to endure pain; able to play on a piano.

3. Specially: Having intellectual qualifications, or strong mental powers; showing ability or skill; talented; clever; powerful; as, the ablest man in the senate; an able speech.

   No man wrote abler state papers.
   --Macaulay.

4. (Law) Legally qualified; possessed of legal competence; as, able to inherit or devise property.

   Note:

   Able for, is Scotticism.

   ``Hardly able for such a march.''
   --Robertson.

   Syn: Competent; qualified; fitted; efficient; effective; capable; skillful; clever; vigorous; powerful.

Able \A"ble\, v. t. [See Able, a.] [Obs.]

1. To make able; to enable; to strengthen.
   --Chaucer.

2. To vouch for. ``I 'll able them.''
   --Shak.

early 14c., from Old French (h)able (14c.), from Latin habilem, habilis "easily handled, apt," verbal adjective from habere "to hold" (see habit). "Easy to be held," hence "fit for a purpose." The silent h- was dropped in English and resisted academic attempts to restore it 16c.-17c., but some derivatives (such as habiliment, habilitate) acquired it via French. Able-whackets - A popular sea-game with cards, in which the loser is beaten over the palms of the hands with a handkerchief tightly twisted like a rope. Very popular with horny-fisted sailors. [Smyth, "Sailor's Word-Book," 1867]

Etymology 1

1. 1 (context obsolete passive English) Easy to use. (Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 18^th century.)(R:SOED5: page=5) 2 (context obsolete passive English) Suitable; competent. (Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 18^th century.) 3 (context obsolete dialectal passive English) Liable to. (First attested from around (1350 to 1470).) 4 Having the necessary powers or the needed resources to accomplish a task. (First attested from around (1350 to 1470).) 5 Free from constraints preventing completion of task; permitted to; not prevented from. (First attested from around 1350 to 1470).) 6 (context obsolete dialectal English) Having the physical strength; robust; healthy. (First attested from around (1350 to 1470).) 7 (context obsolete English) rich; well-to-do. (Attested from the mid 16^th century until the late 19^th century.) 8 Gifted with skill, intelligence, knowledge, or competence. (First attested in the mid 16^th century.) 9 (context legal English) legal qualify or competent. (First attested in the early 18^th century.) 10 (context nautical English) Capable of performing all the requisite duties; as an able seaman. (First attested in the late 18^th century.) Etymology 2

   v

2. 1 (context transitive obsolete English) To make ready. (Attested from around (1150 to 1350) until the late 16^th century.) 2 (context transitive obsolete English) To make capable; to enable. (Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 19^th century.) 3 (context transitive obsolete English) To dress. (Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 15^th century.) 4 (context transitive obsolete English) To give power to; to reinforce; to confirm. (Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 17^th century.) 5 (context transitive obsolete English) To vouch for; to guarantee. (Attested from the late 16^th century until the early 17^th century.) Etymology 3

   n. A word that is used in place of the letter "A" during communication.^{(w Joint_Army/Navy_Phonetic_Alphabet Wp)}

1. adj. (usually followed by `to') having the necessary means or skill or know-how or authority to do something; "able to swim"; "she was able to program her computer"; "we were at last able to buy a car"; "able to get a grant for the project" [ant: unable]

2. have the skills and qualifications to do things well; "able teachers"; "a capable administrator"; "children as young as 14 can be extremely capable and dependable" [syn: capable]

3. having inherent physical or mental ability or capacity; "able to learn"; "human beings are able to walk on two feet"; "Superman is able to leap tall buildings"

4. having a strong healthy body; "an able seaman"; "every able-bodied young man served in the army" [syn: able-bodied]

The Able was an American car produced in Mount Vernon, New York between 1917 and 1919. It was a small production car, featuring its own engines, though other components were proprietary. In 1920 the car became the Vernon.

Category:Vintage vehicles Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States

The Able was a small French cyclecar made in Avignon by Paul Toulouse, built between 1920 and 1927.

It was a fairly ordinary 4-cylinder light car that utilized engines from companies such as SCAP, Chapuis-Dornier and CIME, ranging from 1100 cc to 1500 cc. Some cars were sold under the name "Toulouse".

Able may refer to:

In science and technology:

• Able, a U.S. 1946 nuclear weapon test, part of Operation Crossroads
• ABLE (programming language), a simplified programming language
• Able space probes, probes in the Pioneer program
• Able, one of the first two monkeys in space (and living beings) to return to Earth alive

Vehicles:

• USNS Able (T-AGOS-20), a U.S. Navy oceanographic survey ship
• Able (1917 automobile), an American car
• Able (1920 automobile), a small French cyclecar

Companies and organizations:

• Able Labs, a developer and manufacturer of generic pharmaceutical products
• Association for Better Living and Education, a non-profit Church of Scientology organization
• Able UK, British ship breaking and recycling company
• Aragón de Cable (Able), Spanish telecommunications company
• ABLE India, consortium of Indian biotechnology companies
• ABLE or Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission

In other fields:

• Able (surname)
• Able Crown, a fictional character from DC Comics
• The first letter of the "Able-Baker" spelling alphabet
• Hurricane Able (disambiguation), three hurricanes in the early 1950s

Able is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Forest Able (born 1932), American former basketball player
• George Graham Able (born 1947), British educationalist
• Whitney Able (born 1982), American actress

thumb|right|Able rocket stage, is the second stage in the Vanguard rocket cutaway view thumb|right|Able rocket stage engine in the foreground

Able rocket stage was a rocket stage manufactured in the United States by Aerojet for the Vanguard rockets used in the Vanguard project from 1957 to 1959. The rocket engine stage use as a rocket propellant Nitric acid and UDMH. Able rocket stage was the second of three stages on the multistage rocket Vanguard. The Able rocket stage was discontinued in 1960. A further improved versions were used in the upper stage in the Thor rocket family ( Thor-Able). An upgrade to the Able Stage was the Thor-Ablestar rocket. The Ablestar second stage was an enlarged version of the Able rocket stage, which gave the Thor-Ablestar a greater payload capacity compared to the Thor-Able. It also incorporated restart capabilities, allowing a multiple-burn trajectory to be flown, further increasing payload, or allowing the rocket to reach different orbits. It was the first rocket to be developed with such a capability and development of the stage took a mere eight months.

Some Able rocket stage parts were also used as the engine of Apollo Service Module. The Able stage name represents its place as the first in the series, from the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet.

To save weight Aerojet use an aluminum tube for the engine thrust chamber. The engine used on Vanguard was an AJ10-37. On later Able models rockets the AJ10-41 and AJ10-42 engines were used. Aerojet made 21 Able rocket stage for use on rockets. Vanguard project launched 11 of the Able stages, three were able to put satellites into orbit: Vanguard 1, Vanguard 2 and Vanguard 3. Able rocket stage and the Vanguard project were an important part of the space race between the USA and Soviet union. While the Able rocket stage ended in 1960, the AJ10 engines used in the Able rocket stage continue to be used on later rockets and are still in use. In honor of the rocket stage during an animals in space test, a rhesus monkey name Miss Able, flew with Miss Baker on May 28, 1959.