sable

sand

noun SAH-bluh Less Common

Origin: Latin sabulum (coarse sand)

Usage Note

Sable is masculine and used in both literal contexts (une plage de sable = a sandy beach) and figurative ones (bâtir sur du sable = to build on sand, i.e. on shaky foundations). The adjective sableux/sableuse means 'sandy'. In heraldry, sable is the term for black — the same word borrowed into English.

Examples

"Les enfants construisent un château de sable."

Natural Translation

The children are building a sand castle.

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