movableadj.n.

Brit.

/ˈmuːvəbl/, U.S.

/ˈmuvəb(ə)l/

Forms: Middle English mefabell, Middle English meffabell, Middle English meffable, Middle English menabele (transmission error), Middle English menable (transmission error), Middle English meovable, Middle English meuabel, Middle English meuabil, Middle English meuable, Middle English meueable, Middle English mevable, Middle English meveable, Middle English meveabyll, Middle English mevealble (transmission error), Middle English moeuable, Middle English moeuaeble, Middle English moeueable, Middle English moevable, Middle English moeveable, Middle English mouabele, Middle English movabele, Middle English movabylle, Middle English moveabyll, Middle English moveyabylle, Middle English–1600s mouable, Middle English–1600s moueable, Middle English– movable, Middle English– moveable, 1500s mofebele, 1500s movabille, 1500s movabul, 1500s moweabull, 1500s–1600s mooueable, 1600s moodable (transmission error), 1600s moouable, 1600s mooveable, 1600s mouvable; Scottish pre-1700 moabil, pre-1700 moabill, pre-1700 moable, pre-1700 mofabil, pre-1700 mofabile, pre-1700 mofabill, pre-1700 mofabyl, pre-1700 mofeable, pre-1700 mouabil, pre-1700 mouabile, pre-1700 mouable, pre-1700 mouabyll, pre-1700 moueabill, pre-1700 moueable, pre-1700 moueble, pre-1700 mouebyll, pre-1700 mouiabil, pre-1700 mouvabill, pre-1700 movabell, pre-1700 movabil, pre-1700 movabile, pre-1700 movabill, pre-1700 movabyl, pre-1700 movabyll, pre-1700 moveabill, pre-1700 movebal, pre-1700 mowabil, pre-1700 mowabile, pre-1700 mowabill, pre-1700 mowabille, pre-1700 mowable, pre-1700 mowabyl, pre-1700 mowabyll, pre-1700 mowiabill, pre-1700 mowible, pre-1700 mowobill, pre-1700 mufabil, pre-1700 mufabill, pre-1700 muffabill, pre-1700 muuabell, pre-1700 muwabill, pre-1700 mvuabill, pre-1700 mwabill, pre-1700 mwfabil, pre-1700 mwffabill, pre-1700 1700s– movable, pre-1700 1700s– moveable.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French mevable, mouvable.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman mevable, movable and Old French, Middle French mouvable capable of moving, capable of being moved (early 12th cent.) < movoir move v. + -able -able suffix. Compare moble n. and adj., mobile adj.¹Scots moabil , moabill , and moable are reduced forms. In sense A. 5 after post-biblical Hebrew nāʿ, participle of nūaʿ to move; so called because in some positions it is sounded and in others silent.

A. adj.

a. Capable of being moved; not fixed in one place, time, or posture.Recorded earliest in movable feast n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > transference > [adjective] > transferred > able to be

movablea1325

moblec1390

running1459

remevablec1460

removablec1470

cursory1606

transferable1646

transplantable1656

transferrable1660

itinerant1690

a1325 Lent (Corpus Cambr.) 5 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 128 (MED) Þis beoþ vif festen mouable.

c1392 Equatorie of Planetis 18 (MED) With the moeuable point of thi compas descriue a cercle.

?c1400 in J. O. Halliwell Rara Mathematica (1839) 65 (MED) In whilk persyng put a chippe like þe oþer thre, bot it sale be moveable fro A to B, and þis chippe sale hight E.

c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 28 (MED) Þer ben two skillis whi þe neþere chekebonys beþ meuable & not þe vppere.

1539 W. Ewre Indentures Castell of Berwyke in Archaeologia (1794) 11 440 4 payer of geests of woode dormint, two payer of geests movablle.

1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 360^v The degrees of the Equinoctiall distaunte..from the moueable meridian.

1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xi. 18 In the vast wildernes when the people of God had themselues no settled habitation, yet a moueable tabernacle they were commanded of God to make.

1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. ii. xii. 104 We must also have in our Minde an Imagination of some Moveable thing passing over that Line.

1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) II. 282 He was proposing to me to have a moveable Sty, and about it to make a Yard with Hurdles, to remove from one Tree to another.

a1800 W. Cowper Gratitude in W. Hayley Life & Posthumous Writings Cowper (1803) II. App. 267 This moveable structure of Shelves.

1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. (at cited word) When the pivot flank of any body of men describe in the wheel a smaller circle than the wheeling flank, the wheel is said to be made on a moveable pivot.

1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight ii. 23 The upper lid..is very movable, while the lower one is almost stationary.

1937 Discovery May 151/1 Movable beds are mentioned in the sagas, but fell into disuse in mediaeval times, when beds were fixed to the wall.

1985 H. Newby Green & Pleasant Land (BNC) 213 Even if there are stock grazing on the fields a movable fence is more efficient.

b. Chiefly Law. Of property: capable of being removed or displaced; personal, as opposed to real. In Scots Law (now historical): designating property which devolves on an executor, rather than the heir-at-law, for division among the next of kin (opposed to heritable).

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > particular time > [adjective] > changing from one date to another every year

movablea1382

vaguea1656

the mind > possession > possessions > [adjective] > personal or movable

movablea1382

moblec1390

personal1528

corporal1767

mobiliary1855

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Judith xi. 8 Þer was no noumbre in feeld beestis & in hous beestis & in alle þe mouable thingis [L. universis mobilibus] of hem.

1400 in W. Fraser Mem. Maxwells of Pollok (1863) I. 138 Owr landis, rentis, and possessyonys and al owr gud mofabyl and vnmofeable.

1418 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 32 Alle othere meuable Godes ther-in beyng.

1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) 9139 (MED) She, summe dele Of hyr meuable good, dystraccyoun Makyth.

1482 in J. D. Marwick Charters Edinb. (1871) 156 Gudis mofabil and vnmofabill.

1538 in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monasteries (1843) 175 Certen other catell and movable goodes that dyd belong to the howse.

c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xvii. 119 Ane person may succeid to heretage and to mouabil gudis of his predecessours.

1576 Rec. Dumfries Burgh Court 20 Jan. The mwabill gudis of vmquhile Jhone Tynding.

1618 Sir R. Naunton in S. R. Gardiner Fortescue Papers (1871) 63 Who committed her and her porcion and all her moveable estate unto me at his death.

a1722 J. Lauder Hist. Notices Sc. Affairs (1848) II. 804 A relict is provided to the lifrent of the conquest, which proves all to be moveable debts.

1754 J. Erskine Princ. Law Scotl. I. i. vi. 66 The right of the husband to the wife's moveable estate is burdened with the moveable debts contracted by her before marriage.

1818 H. Hallam View Europe Middle Ages II. vii. 76 The first eminent instance of a general tax required from the clergy was the famous Saladine tithe; a tenth of all movable estate, imposed by the kings of France and England upon all their subjects..to defray the expense of their intended crusade.

1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. at Heritable and moveable Things, in their nature heritable, may become moveable by being made part of a moveable universitas. Thus, a share of heritable subjects, forming part of the stock of a trading company is moveable.

1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest IV. xvii. 59 Besides these seizures of landed property, William also possessed himself of great moveable wealth from various sources.

1927 W. M. Gloag & R. C. Henderson Introd. Law Scotl. 451 In a question as to the incidence of a debt as between the heritable and the moveable estate, only moveable debts may be deducted.

1962 Parl. House Bk. II. H 52 If the Person die, leaving Wife and child or children, his Moveable Estate is divided in the following proportions:—one-third to wife remaining two thirds to child or among children equally.

1988 A. Desai Baumgartner's Bombay ii. 39 They had put their money into moveable assets.

†2.

a. Capable of movement; apt or disposed to move; quick or ready in movement; having a tendency to move. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > [adjective] > tending or disposed to

unstable?c1225

movablea1382

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. i. 21 God made..grete whallez & all soul lyuyng & meueable [a1425 L.V. mouable; L. motabilem] whome waters brouten forþ.

?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iii. pr. xii. 215 Thilke devyne substaunce tornith the world and the moevable cercle of thinges, while thilke devyne substaunce kepith itself withouten moevynge.

a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 12332 (MED) And thyderward they [sc. the planets] be meveable To thylke poynt to kome ageyn. Fro wych they meuede ffyrst certeyn.

1526 Pylgrimage of Perfection (de Worde) 234 Of all the membres of the body, nature hath made the eye moost mouable.

1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour l. 6046 in Wks. (1931) I The first and hiest heuin mouabyll, Sall stand, but turnyng, firme and stabyll.

1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 83^v And somtimes her fine and moueable legges..discouered themselues.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 239 Goates are nimble, mooueable, and inconstant, and therefore apt to depart awaie, except they be restrained by the heard and his Dogge.

1718 J. Addison Remarks Italy (ed. 2) 287 Any one who sees the Teverone must..conclude it to be one of the most moveable Rivers in the World, that has its Stream broken by such a Multitude of Cascades, and is so often shifted out of one Channel into other.

b. In motion, moving about; accustomed to move or travel; active, agile. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > [adjective] > moving

stirringc950

movablea1382

swayingc1400

moving?a1425

shifting1479

mobile1490

unquiet1539

movent1644

impacifica1657

traversing1785

unstationary1832

unsettled1845

shifty1884

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Wisd. vii. 24 Þan alle forsoþe mouable thingis, more mouable is wisdam.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 157^v Þe see is meuable withoute reste, and by his owne mevyng he kepeþ and saueþ his owne substaunce.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 108 Men of ynde..neuere gon out of here owne contree... Þei ben not sterynge ne mevable.

c1475 tr. Henri de Mondeville Surgery (Wellcome) f. 146 (MED) Longe fyngris & smale, mouable and not tremblynge.

†3. Subject to change or alteration; mutable, shifting, variable. Also figurative: capable of being influenced or prevailed on; changeable, fickle, inconstant. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective]

slidinga900

wankleeOE

windyc1000

unsteadfastc1200

fleeting?c1225

loose?c1225

brotelc1315

unstablec1340

varyingc1340

variantc1374

motleyc1380

ungroundedc1380

muablea1393

passiblea1393

remuablea1393

changeablea1398

movablea1398

variablec1397

slidderya1400

ticklec1400

variantc1412

flitting1413

mutable?a1425

movingc1425

flaskisable1430

flickering1430

transmutablec1430

vertible1447

brittlea1450

ficklea1450

permutablec1450

unfirmc1450

uncertain1477

turnable1483

unsteadfast1483

vagrantc1522

inconstant1526

alterable?1531

stirringc1540

slippery1548

various1552

slid?1553

mutala1561

rolling1561

weathery1563

unconstant1568

interchangeable1574

fluctuant1575

stayless1575

transitive1575

voluble1575

changeling1577

queasy1579

desultory1581

huff-puff1582

unstaid1586

vagrant1586

changeful1590

floating1594

Protean1594

unstayed1594

swimming1596

anchorless1597

mobilec1600

ticklish1601

catching1603

labile1603

unrooted1604

quicksilvered1605

versatile1605

insubstantial1607

uncertain1609

brandling1611

rootless1611

squeasy1611

wind-changinga1616

insolid1618

ambulatory1625

versatilous1629

plastic1633

desultorious1637

unbottomed1641

fluid1642

fluent1648

yea-and-nay1648

versipellous1650

flexile1651

uncentred1652

variating1653

chequered1656

slideable1662

transchangeative1662

weathercock-like1663

flicketing1674

fluxa1677

lapsable1678

wanton1681

veering1684

upon the weathercock1702

contingent1703

unsettled?1726

fermentable1731

afloat1757

brickle1768

wavy1795

vagarious1798

unsettled1803

fitful1810

metamorphosical1811

undulating1815

tittupya1817

titubant1817

mutative1818

papier mâché1818

teetotum1819

vacillating1822

capricious1823

sensitive1828

quicksilvery1829

unengrafted1829

fluxionala1834

proteiform1833

liquid1835

tottlish1835

kaleidoscopic1846

versative1846

kaleidoscopical1858

tottery1861

choppy1865

variative1874

variational1879

wimbly-wambly1881

fluctuable1882

shifty1882

giveable1884

shifty1884

tippy1886

mutatory1890

upsettable1890

rocky1897

undulatory1897

streaky1898

tottly1905

tipply1906

up and down1907

inertialess1927

sometimey1946

rise-and-fall1950

switchable1961

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 31^v By kynde, moisture is meueable [L. labilis] and fleting.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 133 Bicause of his substancial liȝtnesse eyr is kyndely mevable and chaungeable, & may be I-turned in to contrarye qualitees.

?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iv. pr. vi. 71 Destyne is the disposicioun and ordenance clyvyng to moevable thinges [L. rebus mobilibus].

?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iv. met. v. 33 The moevable peple [L. mobile uulgus] is astoned of alle thinges that comen seelde.

?c1425 T. Hoccleve Jonathas (Durh.) in Minor Poems (1970) i. 240 The lawe of Moyses..was meuable, for it changid by the comynge of Cryst.

1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 38 Trust not in eny thingis of this moeuaeble world.

a1500 in R. H. Robbins Secular Lyrics 14th & 15th Cent. (1952) 290 What thyng than eyr is lyȝter and meveabyll?

1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer ii. f. cccxliii^v Howe passynge is the beautie of flesshly bodyes? more flyttynge than mouable floures of sommer.

1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias i. xxi. 55 The King was moueable, and therefore it was possible that the Moores would alter his minde.

1611 Bible (King James) Prov. v. 6 Her wayes are moueable, that thou canst not know them.

1694 J. Locke Let. 15 Oct. in J. Locke & E. Clarke Corr. (1927) 400 Pains in the particular parts of the body..give the least light to a physician, epecially if they be transient and movable pains.

†4. Of wind: strong enough to cause sailing ships to move. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

a1425 (a1393) J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Hunterian) ii. 1123 (MED) Meuable [a1393 Fairf. and tho began to blowe A wynd menable fro the lond].

a1500 (a1450) Partonope of Blois (BL Add.) (1912) 764 A mevable wynde then had he... The wynde so fulle vppon the sayle.

†5. Semitic Grammar. Of a letter, diacritic, etc.: pronounced, not silent; (also) (spec. of a consonant) pronounced with a following vowel, as opposed to being pronounced with no following vowel. Opposed to quiescent. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > part of body > [adjective] > mobile

mobile1787

movable1828

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > [adjective] > utterance of vocal sound > uttered > of letters

movable1828

1828 M. Stuart Gram. Hebrew Lang. (1831) 25 A moveable consonant is one which is sounded.

1837 G. Phillips Elem. Syriac Gram. 33 In the plural Yud quiescent is changed into Yud moveable.

1839 T. J. Conant tr. F. H. W. Gesenius Hebrew Gram. 15 Where they [sc. י ,ו ,ה ,א] serve as vowels they are called quiescents (quiescentes); where they are consonants, moveable (mobiles).

1853 J. R. Wolf Pract. Hebrew Gram. 10 When Sheva is placed under such a consonant at the beginning of a syllable, it..is called movable Sheva.

6. Linguistics. Designating a consonant or other element which may be inserted into or affixed to a word, usually under determined morphophonemic conditions.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > consonant > [adjective] > others

harda1722

lunar1776

solar1776

cerebral1816

emphatic1855

mobile1861

vocular1884

movable1933

pre-final1934

prenasalized1937

mellow1956

1933 C. D. Buck Compar. Gram. Greek & Latin 160 The ν movable in forms like λέγουσι(ν), εἶπε(ν), etc., is an added element which, except for a few examples of dat. pl. -σιν in other dialects, is peculiar to Attic-Ionic.

1951 E. H. Sturtevant & E. A. Hahn Compar. Gram. Hittite Lang. (ed. 2) 66 s Movable.

1958 R. C. Priebsch & W. E. Collinson German Lang. (rev. ed.) 70 ‘Movable’ s is prefixed in Indo-European to many roots.

1973 A. H. Sommerstein Sound Pattern Anc. Greek ii. 40 Moveable Nu. This is the name given in traditional studies of Greek to a dental nasal which is inserted at the end of certain words that would otherwise end in a vowel, if the following word begins with a vowel or [h] (that is, with a non-consonantal segment), or if a major pause follows.

B. n.

a. In plural. Chiefly Law. Personal property; property capable of being removed or displaced; any kind of property not fixed, as opposed to real or fixed property (such as land, a house, etc.). In Scots Law (now historical): movable as opposed to heritable property (see sense A. 1b).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property

feec888

goodOE

chateus1297

moblea1325

farec1330

harness1340

gearc1380

plentiesc1384

goods and cattel1418

pelfa1425

testament1424

movables1428

personals1436

stuff1438

cattle1473

cabow1489

chattel1549

chattel personal1552

goods and chattels1576

luggage1624

corporeals1647

effects1657

chose1670

personalities1753

stock1776

plunder1780

personal effects1818

personalty1827

taonga1863

marbles1864

1428 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 80 (MED) Alle þe goodis þat be meuablis.

a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 180 My sone, I have none mevables that I may yeve to the.

1537 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 133 I wyll that Margary my wyff haue all my mouables, as corne and catall.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iii. i. 192 When I am King, claime thou of me The Earledome of Hereford and the moueables, Whereof the King my brother stood possest.

1656 R. Vines Treat. Inst. Lords-Supper vi. 102 These I say are moveables, and not of the freehold.

1684–5 in Trans. Dumfries & Galloway Nat. Hist. & Antiquarian Soc. 3rd Ser. 36 168 To bring in Mcilhaffie rebell his movabellis.

1710 Medley 6 Nov. Their Moveables begun to be packing up, and the Bankers gave them Letters of Credit for Florence.

1766 W. Gordon Gen. Counting-house 486 Moveables..is the stock that receives the addition, diminution, or variation.

1825 W. Cobbett Rural Rides 9 Nov. (1885) II. 5 The new owner of the estate..bought it ‘stock and fluke’ as the sailors call it; that is to say, that he bought movables and the whole.

1884 Law Times Rep. 51 119/1 The property..as regards movables..is governed by the law of Spain, the country of her domicile.

1976 J. A. C. Thomas Textbk. Rom. Law 130 The distinction between movables and immovables had nothing like the significance which feudalism has bequeathed to it in modern legal systems.

1991 D. L. Carey Miller (title) Corporeal Moveables in Scots Law.

b. An article of furniture that may be removed from the building in which it is placed (opposed to fixture). Also: a portable object belonging to a person, such as an article of clothing, a jewel, a tool, etc. Now usually in plural. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > [noun] > piece of

movable1523

implements1601

fitment1851

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property > personal belongings > portable > piece of

movable1523

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. clv. 187 They shall pay nothyng for that they may spende aboue v.M.li. nor for their mouables.

1607 B. Jonson Volpone iv. i. sig. I^v I..tooke mee a house, Dealt with my Iewes, to furnish it with moueables .

a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) ii. i. 197 You were a mouable. Pet. Why, what's a mouable? Kat. A ioyn'd stoole.

a1625 J. Fletcher Chances iv. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ccc1/1 Du. But is her name Constantia? Petr. Yes a moveable Belonging to a friend of mine.

a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1645 (1955) II. 393 It has in the middle an Hall furnish<ed> with excellent Marbles, & rare Pictures,..the movables are princely & rich.

1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Moveables, Rings, Watches, Swords, and such Toies of value. As we bit all the Cull's Cole and Moveables, we Won all the Man's Money, Rings, Watches, &c.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Parasol A little Moveable, in manner of a Canopy, bore in the Hand to screen the Head from the Sun, Rain, &c.

1820 Ld. Byron Let. 10 Jan. (1977) VII. 24 I wrote to you..for my movables.

1882 W. D. Howells Mod. Instance xx. 247 Most people were then still in the period of green reps and tan terry, and of dull black-walnut movables.

1930 E. Wallace Lady of Ascot xiii. 120 There were active young men..whose graft was to get into first-floor flats and get out quickly with such overcoats, wraps, and movables as could be whisked away in half a minute.

1990 F. Pohl World at End of Time (1993) 54 All the first colonists could do was strip it of its cargo and most of its moveables.

†2. In the medieval version of Aristotle's cosmology: each of the concentric spheres (sphere n. 2a) supposed to revolve round the earth. first movable n. = primum mobile n. 1. highest movable n. = first movable n. Obsolete.Cf. mobile n.¹ 1, motor n. 1b, mover n.¹ 1b, moving n. 1b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > sphere of ancient astronomy > [noun]

liftOE

heavenOE

wheelc1175

welkina1325

spherec1374

elementc1384

firmamentc1386

roundnessa1398

movablec1400

orbc1449

concavity1483

concameration1625

subcelestial1644

orbit1727

the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > sphere of ancient astronomy > [noun] > primum mobile

first firmamentc1386

first movablec1400

first-movingc1400

first mobilea1475

primum mobilea1475

first movera1550

primovant1570

motor1586

primovable1625

highest movable1669

c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) i. §17. 10 It departeth the furste Moeuable, þat is to seyn, the spere, in 2 ilike parties.

1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii. i. iii. f. 136 The tenth [sphere] is called the first moueable.

a1649 W. Drummond Irene in Wks. (1711) 171 The Planets have a Motion contrary to the first Moveable.

1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. i. 2 The Figure, Number, and Motion made in the Heavens by the highest Moveable called Primum Mobile.

1690 W. Leybourn Cursus mathematicus f. 760 I now enter upon their Hypotheses, that suppose it [sc. the Earth] to be mov'd about the Sun. But before the Phaenomena of the secondary Moveables can be explained by this supposition, we must first understand [etc.].

†3. A changeable or mutable person or thing; a person given to moving from place to place, an itinerant. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > change > [noun] > one who or that which changes > that favours change

movable1621

Young Turk1948

1621–2 W. Laud Serm. 24 Mar. 35 And this is a great Successe. To haue to doe with the greatest mooueables in the world, the people, and not miscarry.

1632 S. Marmion Hollands Leaguer i. i His business Is only to be busy, and his tongue's still walking Though himself be one of the worst moveables.

1658 E. Phillips Myst. Love & Eloquence 175 What is a Tinker?.. He is a moveable, for he hath no certain abiding.

†4.

a. A thing able to be moved or set in motion. Occasionally: a thing able to move (quot. a1807). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > [noun] > person or thing that moves > that can be moved or set in motion

movable1629

1629 H. Burton Truth's Triumph 348 He would remoue this whole terrestriall Globe, if he had but a Ground or Base to fasten his Engine vpon (although the Base must needes be farre bigger than the Moueable).

1656 tr. T. White Peripateticall Inst. 73 If a Moveable be violently struck against a hard resister.

1682 T. Creech tr. Lucretius De natura rerum i. 13 This could not be, were there no empty space, Thro which these Moveables might freely pass.

a1807 W. Wordsworth Prelude (1959) vii. 260 All moveables of wonder from all parts, Are here, Albinos, painted Indians, Dwarfs, The Horse of Knowledge, and the learned Pig,..The Wax-work, Clock-work, all the marvellous craft Of modern Merlins.

b. spec. A moving part of a watch or clock mechanism. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > instruments for measuring time > watch > [noun] > parts of

barrel1591

motion1605

bezel1616

fusee1622

string1638

crown wheel1646

out-case1651

watch-box1656

nuck1664

watchwork1667

balance-wheel1669

box1675

dial wheel1675

counter-potence1678

pendulum-balance1680

watch-case1681

pillar1684

contrate teeth1696

pinion of report1696

watch-hook1698

bob-balance1701

half-cock1701

potence1704

verge1704

pad1705

movable1709

jewel1711

pendant1721

crystal1722

watch-key1723

pendulum spring1728

lock spring1741

watch-glass1742

watch-spring1761

all-or-nothing piece1764

watch hand1764

cylinder1765

cannon?1780

cannon1802

stackfreed1819

pillar plate1821

little hand1829

hair-spring1830

lunette1832

all-or-nothing1843

locking1851

slag1857

staff1860

case spring1866

stem1866

balance-cock1874

watch-dial1875

balance-spring1881

balance-staff1881

Breguet spring1881

overcoil1881

surprise-piece1881

brass edge1884

button turn1884

fourth wheel1884

fusee-sink1884

pair-case1884

silver bar1884

silver piece1884

slang1884

top plate1884

karrusel1893

watch-face1893

watch bracelet1896

bar-movement1903

jewel pivot1907

jewel bearing1954

1709 London Gaz. No. 4599/4 Lost.., a small Gold Watch with a plain Gold Case, the Moveables pretty old.

1779 Philos. Trans. 1778 (Royal Soc.) 68 979 What is meant by a pinion in watch-making is that moveable which is set in action by another of a greater number of teeth.

Compounds

movable doh n. (also movable do) Music a system of solmization in which doh is the keynote of any major scale; opposed to fixed doh n. at fixed adj. Additions.

ΚΠ

1842 R. H. Barham Netley Abbey in Ingoldsby Legends 2nd Ser. 112 Then, you know, They'd a ‘moveable Do’, Not a fixed one as now.

1994 H. Burton Leonard Bernstein i. i. 8 Bernstein would later remember only that he was taught..a simple way to read music, using a rudimentary system of movable ‘doh’.

movable kidney n. Medicine (now rare) a kidney that is (or is thought to be) abnormally mobile; a condition characterized by this; cf. floating adj. 3a.

ΚΠ

1849 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 16 Jan. 413/1 A moveable kidney can only be passed up and down a little.

1877 tr. H. W. von Ziemssen et al. Cycl. Pract. Med. XV. 763 The clinical history of the movable kidney dates from the time of Rayer.

1989 Urologia Internationalis 44 166 Movable kidney is a debated entity and therefore not diagnosed in many cases.

movable rib n. †(a) Anatomy each of the four ribs of the eleventh and twelfth pairs in the human, which are not attached to the sternum ventrally; a floating rib (obsolete rare); (b) Zoology (in tetrapods) a rib that is capable of being moved, esp. one that is free at the ventral end.

ΚΠ

1835 R. Owen in Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 280/2 If the moveable ribs had commenced as in Mammalia, by extending to the sternum.

1880 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 171 1047 In the skeleton of Moloch horridus..there are 21 vertebræ between the skull and sacrum; of these, 14 support movable ribs.

1944 Sci. Monthly Aug. 125/2 These membranes [in the flying lizard] are distended partly by the limbs but mainly by the movable ribs.

1989 Science 22 Dec. 1593/2 Most air-breathing fishes, lacking the diaphragm or movable ribs thought necessary for aspiration breathing, use a buccal pulse pump.

† movable sign n. Astrology Obsolete = cardinal adj..

ΚΠ

1647 W. Lilly Christian Astrol. vii. 52 If she [sc. the moon] be posited therein, especially in a moodable [sic] Signe, it's an argument of much travell, trotting and trudging.

1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Moveable Signs, the same that are named Cardinal, as Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, as from which the Changes of the Seasons are made in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

1819 J. Wilson Compl. Dict. Astrol. 165 In a succeedent house, moveable signs give months.

1845 Theologian 2 37 Capricornus..is an earthy,..moveable,..solstitian,..quadrupedal sign.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	movable
释义	movableadj.n. Brit. /ˈmuːvəbl/, U.S. /ˈmuvəb(ə)l/ Forms: Middle English mefabell, Middle English meffabell, Middle English meffable, Middle English menabele (transmission error), Middle English menable (transmission error), Middle English meovable, Middle English meuabel, Middle English meuabil, Middle English meuable, Middle English meueable, Middle English mevable, Middle English meveable, Middle English meveabyll, Middle English mevealble (transmission error), Middle English moeuable, Middle English moeuaeble, Middle English moeueable, Middle English moevable, Middle English moeveable, Middle English mouabele, Middle English movabele, Middle English movabylle, Middle English moveabyll, Middle English moveyabylle, Middle English–1600s mouable, Middle English–1600s moueable, Middle English– movable, Middle English– moveable, 1500s mofebele, 1500s movabille, 1500s movabul, 1500s moweabull, 1500s–1600s mooueable, 1600s moodable (transmission error), 1600s moouable, 1600s mooveable, 1600s mouvable; Scottish pre-1700 moabil, pre-1700 moabill, pre-1700 moable, pre-1700 mofabil, pre-1700 mofabile, pre-1700 mofabill, pre-1700 mofabyl, pre-1700 mofeable, pre-1700 mouabil, pre-1700 mouabile, pre-1700 mouable, pre-1700 mouabyll, pre-1700 moueabill, pre-1700 moueable, pre-1700 moueble, pre-1700 mouebyll, pre-1700 mouiabil, pre-1700 mouvabill, pre-1700 movabell, pre-1700 movabil, pre-1700 movabile, pre-1700 movabill, pre-1700 movabyl, pre-1700 movabyll, pre-1700 moveabill, pre-1700 movebal, pre-1700 mowabil, pre-1700 mowabile, pre-1700 mowabill, pre-1700 mowabille, pre-1700 mowable, pre-1700 mowabyl, pre-1700 mowabyll, pre-1700 mowiabill, pre-1700 mowible, pre-1700 mowobill, pre-1700 mufabil, pre-1700 mufabill, pre-1700 muffabill, pre-1700 muuabell, pre-1700 muwabill, pre-1700 mvuabill, pre-1700 mwabill, pre-1700 mwfabil, pre-1700 mwffabill, pre-1700 1700s– movable, pre-1700 1700s– moveable. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French mevable, mouvable. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman mevable, movable and Old French, Middle French mouvable capable of moving, capable of being moved (early 12th cent.) < movoir move v. + -able -able suffix. Compare moble n. and adj., mobile adj.¹Scots moabil , moabill , and moable are reduced forms. In sense A. 5 after post-biblical Hebrew nāʿ, participle of nūaʿ to move; so called because in some positions it is sounded and in others silent. A. adj. 1. a. Capable of being moved; not fixed in one place, time, or posture.Recorded earliest in movable feast n. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > transference > [adjective] > transferred > able to be movablea1325 moblec1390 running1459 remevablec1460 removablec1470 cursory1606 transferable1646 transplantable1656 transferrable1660 itinerant1690 a1325 Lent (Corpus Cambr.) 5 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary (1956) 128 (MED) Þis beoþ vif festen mouable. c1392 Equatorie of Planetis 18 (MED) With the moeuable point of thi compas descriue a cercle. ?c1400 in J. O. Halliwell Rara Mathematica (1839) 65 (MED) In whilk persyng put a chippe like þe oþer thre, bot it sale be moveable fro A to B, and þis chippe sale hight E. c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 28 (MED) Þer ben two skillis whi þe neþere chekebonys beþ meuable & not þe vppere. 1539 W. Ewre Indentures Castell of Berwyke in Archaeologia (1794) 11 440 4 payer of geests of woode dormint, two payer of geests movablle. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 360^v The degrees of the Equinoctiall distaunte..from the moueable meridian. 1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xi. 18 In the vast wildernes when the people of God had themselues no settled habitation, yet a moueable tabernacle they were commanded of God to make. 1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. ii. xii. 104 We must also have in our Minde an Imagination of some Moveable thing passing over that Line. 1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) II. 282 He was proposing to me to have a moveable Sty, and about it to make a Yard with Hurdles, to remove from one Tree to another. a1800 W. Cowper Gratitude in W. Hayley Life & Posthumous Writings Cowper (1803) II. App. 267 This moveable structure of Shelves. 1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. (at cited word) When the pivot flank of any body of men describe in the wheel a smaller circle than the wheeling flank, the wheel is said to be made on a moveable pivot. 1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight ii. 23 The upper lid..is very movable, while the lower one is almost stationary. 1937 Discovery May 151/1 Movable beds are mentioned in the sagas, but fell into disuse in mediaeval times, when beds were fixed to the wall. 1985 H. Newby Green & Pleasant Land (BNC) 213 Even if there are stock grazing on the fields a movable fence is more efficient. b. Chiefly Law. Of property: capable of being removed or displaced; personal, as opposed to real. In Scots Law (now historical): designating property which devolves on an executor, rather than the heir-at-law, for division among the next of kin (opposed to heritable). ΘΚΠ the world > time > particular time > [adjective] > changing from one date to another every year movablea1382 vaguea1656 the mind > possession > possessions > [adjective] > personal or movable movablea1382 moblec1390 personal1528 corporal1767 mobiliary1855 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Judith xi. 8 Þer was no noumbre in feeld beestis & in hous beestis & in alle þe mouable thingis [L. universis mobilibus] of hem. 1400 in W. Fraser Mem. Maxwells of Pollok (1863) I. 138 Owr landis, rentis, and possessyonys and al owr gud mofabyl and vnmofeable. 1418 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 32 Alle othere meuable Godes ther-in beyng. 1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) 9139 (MED) She, summe dele Of hyr meuable good, dystraccyoun Makyth. 1482 in J. D. Marwick Charters Edinb. (1871) 156 Gudis mofabil and vnmofabill. 1538 in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monasteries (1843) 175 Certen other catell and movable goodes that dyd belong to the howse. c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xvii. 119 Ane person may succeid to heretage and to mouabil gudis of his predecessours. 1576 Rec. Dumfries Burgh Court 20 Jan. The mwabill gudis of vmquhile Jhone Tynding. 1618 Sir R. Naunton in S. R. Gardiner Fortescue Papers (1871) 63 Who committed her and her porcion and all her moveable estate unto me at his death. a1722 J. Lauder Hist. Notices Sc. Affairs (1848) II. 804 A relict is provided to the lifrent of the conquest, which proves all to be moveable debts. 1754 J. Erskine Princ. Law Scotl. I. i. vi. 66 The right of the husband to the wife's moveable estate is burdened with the moveable debts contracted by her before marriage. 1818 H. Hallam View Europe Middle Ages II. vii. 76 The first eminent instance of a general tax required from the clergy was the famous Saladine tithe; a tenth of all movable estate, imposed by the kings of France and England upon all their subjects..to defray the expense of their intended crusade. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. at Heritable and moveable Things, in their nature heritable, may become moveable by being made part of a moveable universitas. Thus, a share of heritable subjects, forming part of the stock of a trading company is moveable. 1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest IV. xvii. 59 Besides these seizures of landed property, William also possessed himself of great moveable wealth from various sources. 1927 W. M. Gloag & R. C. Henderson Introd. Law Scotl. 451 In a question as to the incidence of a debt as between the heritable and the moveable estate, only moveable debts may be deducted. 1962 Parl. House Bk. II. H 52 If the Person die, leaving Wife and child or children, his Moveable Estate is divided in the following proportions:—one-third to wife remaining two thirds to child or among children equally. 1988 A. Desai Baumgartner's Bombay ii. 39 They had put their money into moveable assets. †2. a. Capable of movement; apt or disposed to move; quick or ready in movement; having a tendency to move. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > [adjective] > tending or disposed to unstable?c1225 movablea1382 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. i. 21 God made..grete whallez & all soul lyuyng & meueable [a1425 L.V. mouable; L. motabilem] whome waters brouten forþ. ?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iii. pr. xii. 215 Thilke devyne substaunce tornith the world and the moevable cercle of thinges, while thilke devyne substaunce kepith itself withouten moevynge. a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 12332 (MED) And thyderward they [sc. the planets] be meveable To thylke poynt to kome ageyn. Fro wych they meuede ffyrst certeyn. 1526 Pylgrimage of Perfection (de Worde) 234 Of all the membres of the body, nature hath made the eye moost mouable. 1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour l. 6046 in Wks. (1931) I The first and hiest heuin mouabyll, Sall stand, but turnyng, firme and stabyll. 1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 83^v And somtimes her fine and moueable legges..discouered themselues. 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 239 Goates are nimble, mooueable, and inconstant, and therefore apt to depart awaie, except they be restrained by the heard and his Dogge. 1718 J. Addison Remarks Italy (ed. 2) 287 Any one who sees the Teverone must..conclude it to be one of the most moveable Rivers in the World, that has its Stream broken by such a Multitude of Cascades, and is so often shifted out of one Channel into other. b. In motion, moving about; accustomed to move or travel; active, agile. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > [adjective] > moving stirringc950 movablea1382 swayingc1400 moving?a1425 shifting1479 mobile1490 unquiet1539 movent1644 impacifica1657 traversing1785 unstationary1832 unsettled1845 shifty1884 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Wisd. vii. 24 Þan alle forsoþe mouable thingis, more mouable is wisdam. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 157^v Þe see is meuable withoute reste, and by his owne mevyng he kepeþ and saueþ his owne substaunce. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 108 Men of ynde..neuere gon out of here owne contree... Þei ben not sterynge ne mevable. c1475 tr. Henri de Mondeville Surgery (Wellcome) f. 146 (MED) Longe fyngris & smale, mouable and not tremblynge. †3. Subject to change or alteration; mutable, shifting, variable. Also figurative: capable of being influenced or prevailed on; changeable, fickle, inconstant. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective] slidinga900 wankleeOE windyc1000 unsteadfastc1200 fleeting?c1225 loose?c1225 brotelc1315 unstablec1340 varyingc1340 variantc1374 motleyc1380 ungroundedc1380 muablea1393 passiblea1393 remuablea1393 changeablea1398 movablea1398 variablec1397 slidderya1400 ticklec1400 variantc1412 flitting1413 mutable?a1425 movingc1425 flaskisable1430 flickering1430 transmutablec1430 vertible1447 brittlea1450 ficklea1450 permutablec1450 unfirmc1450 uncertain1477 turnable1483 unsteadfast1483 vagrantc1522 inconstant1526 alterable?1531 stirringc1540 slippery1548 various1552 slid?1553 mutala1561 rolling1561 weathery1563 unconstant1568 interchangeable1574 fluctuant1575 stayless1575 transitive1575 voluble1575 changeling1577 queasy1579 desultory1581 huff-puff1582 unstaid1586 vagrant1586 changeful1590 floating1594 Protean1594 unstayed1594 swimming1596 anchorless1597 mobilec1600 ticklish1601 catching1603 labile1603 unrooted1604 quicksilvered1605 versatile1605 insubstantial1607 uncertain1609 brandling1611 rootless1611 squeasy1611 wind-changinga1616 insolid1618 ambulatory1625 versatilous1629 plastic1633 desultorious1637 unbottomed1641 fluid1642 fluent1648 yea-and-nay1648 versipellous1650 flexile1651 uncentred1652 variating1653 chequered1656 slideable1662 transchangeative1662 weathercock-like1663 flicketing1674 fluxa1677 lapsable1678 wanton1681 veering1684 upon the weathercock1702 contingent1703 unsettled?1726 fermentable1731 afloat1757 brickle1768 wavy1795 vagarious1798 unsettled1803 fitful1810 metamorphosical1811 undulating1815 tittupya1817 titubant1817 mutative1818 papier mâché1818 teetotum1819 vacillating1822 capricious1823 sensitive1828 quicksilvery1829 unengrafted1829 fluxionala1834 proteiform1833 liquid1835 tottlish1835 kaleidoscopic1846 versative1846 kaleidoscopical1858 tottery1861 choppy1865 variative1874 variational1879 wimbly-wambly1881 fluctuable1882 shifty1882 giveable1884 shifty1884 tippy1886 mutatory1890 upsettable1890 rocky1897 undulatory1897 streaky1898 tottly1905 tipply1906 up and down1907 inertialess1927 sometimey1946 rise-and-fall1950 switchable1961 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 31^v By kynde, moisture is meueable [L. labilis] and fleting. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 133 Bicause of his substancial liȝtnesse eyr is kyndely mevable and chaungeable, & may be I-turned in to contrarye qualitees. ?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iv. pr. vi. 71 Destyne is the disposicioun and ordenance clyvyng to moevable thinges [L. rebus mobilibus]. ?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iv. met. v. 33 The moevable peple [L. mobile uulgus] is astoned of alle thinges that comen seelde. ?c1425 T. Hoccleve Jonathas (Durh.) in Minor Poems (1970) i. 240 The lawe of Moyses..was meuable, for it changid by the comynge of Cryst. 1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 38 Trust not in eny thingis of this moeuaeble world. a1500 in R. H. Robbins Secular Lyrics 14th & 15th Cent. (1952) 290 What thyng than eyr is lyȝter and meveabyll? 1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer ii. f. cccxliii^v Howe passynge is the beautie of flesshly bodyes? more flyttynge than mouable floures of sommer. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias i. xxi. 55 The King was moueable, and therefore it was possible that the Moores would alter his minde. 1611 Bible (King James) Prov. v. 6 Her wayes are moueable, that thou canst not know them. View more context for this quotation 1694 J. Locke Let. 15 Oct. in J. Locke & E. Clarke Corr. (1927) 400 Pains in the particular parts of the body..give the least light to a physician, epecially if they be transient and movable pains. †4. Of wind: strong enough to cause sailing ships to move. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ a1425 (a1393) J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Hunterian) ii. 1123 (MED) Meuable [a1393 Fairf. and tho began to blowe A wynd menable fro the lond]. a1500 (a1450) Partonope of Blois (BL Add.) (1912) 764 A mevable wynde then had he... The wynde so fulle vppon the sayle. †5. Semitic Grammar. Of a letter, diacritic, etc.: pronounced, not silent; (also) (spec. of a consonant) pronounced with a following vowel, as opposed to being pronounced with no following vowel. Opposed to quiescent. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > part of body > [adjective] > mobile mobile1787 movable1828 the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > [adjective] > utterance of vocal sound > uttered > of letters movable1828 1828 M. Stuart Gram. Hebrew Lang. (1831) 25 A moveable consonant is one which is sounded. 1837 G. Phillips Elem. Syriac Gram. 33 In the plural Yud quiescent is changed into Yud moveable. 1839 T. J. Conant tr. F. H. W. Gesenius Hebrew Gram. 15 Where they [sc. י ,ו ,ה ,א] serve as vowels they are called quiescents (quiescentes); where they are consonants, moveable (mobiles). 1853 J. R. Wolf Pract. Hebrew Gram. 10 When Sheva is placed under such a consonant at the beginning of a syllable, it..is called movable Sheva. 6. Linguistics. Designating a consonant or other element which may be inserted into or affixed to a word, usually under determined morphophonemic conditions. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > consonant > [adjective] > others harda1722 lunar1776 solar1776 cerebral1816 emphatic1855 mobile1861 vocular1884 movable1933 pre-final1934 prenasalized1937 mellow1956 1933 C. D. Buck Compar. Gram. Greek & Latin 160 The ν movable in forms like λέγουσι(ν), εἶπε(ν), etc., is an added element which, except for a few examples of dat. pl. -σιν in other dialects, is peculiar to Attic-Ionic. 1951 E. H. Sturtevant & E. A. Hahn Compar. Gram. Hittite Lang. (ed. 2) 66 s Movable. 1958 R. C. Priebsch & W. E. Collinson German Lang. (rev. ed.) 70 ‘Movable’ s is prefixed in Indo-European to many roots. 1973 A. H. Sommerstein Sound Pattern Anc. Greek ii. 40 Moveable Nu. This is the name given in traditional studies of Greek to a dental nasal which is inserted at the end of certain words that would otherwise end in a vowel, if the following word begins with a vowel or [h] (that is, with a non-consonantal segment), or if a major pause follows. B. n. 1. a. In plural. Chiefly Law. Personal property; property capable of being removed or displaced; any kind of property not fixed, as opposed to real or fixed property (such as land, a house, etc.). In Scots Law (now historical): movable as opposed to heritable property (see sense A. 1b). ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property feec888 goodOE chateus1297 moblea1325 farec1330 harness1340 gearc1380 plentiesc1384 goods and cattel1418 pelfa1425 testament1424 movables1428 personals1436 stuff1438 cattle1473 cabow1489 chattel1549 chattel personal1552 goods and chattels1576 luggage1624 corporeals1647 effects1657 chose1670 personalities1753 stock1776 plunder1780 personal effects1818 personalty1827 taonga1863 marbles1864 1428 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 80 (MED) Alle þe goodis þat be meuablis. a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 180 My sone, I have none mevables that I may yeve to the. 1537 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 133 I wyll that Margary my wyff haue all my mouables, as corne and catall. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iii. i. 192 When I am King, claime thou of me The Earledome of Hereford and the moueables, Whereof the King my brother stood possest. View more context for this quotation 1656 R. Vines Treat. Inst. Lords-Supper vi. 102 These I say are moveables, and not of the freehold. 1684–5 in Trans. Dumfries & Galloway Nat. Hist. & Antiquarian Soc. 3rd Ser. 36 168 To bring in Mcilhaffie rebell his movabellis. 1710 Medley 6 Nov. Their Moveables begun to be packing up, and the Bankers gave them Letters of Credit for Florence. 1766 W. Gordon Gen. Counting-house 486 Moveables..is the stock that receives the addition, diminution, or variation. 1825 W. Cobbett Rural Rides 9 Nov. (1885) II. 5 The new owner of the estate..bought it ‘stock and fluke’ as the sailors call it; that is to say, that he bought movables and the whole. 1884 Law Times Rep. 51 119/1 The property..as regards movables..is governed by the law of Spain, the country of her domicile. 1976 J. A. C. Thomas Textbk. Rom. Law 130 The distinction between movables and immovables had nothing like the significance which feudalism has bequeathed to it in modern legal systems. 1991 D. L. Carey Miller (title) Corporeal Moveables in Scots Law. b. An article of furniture that may be removed from the building in which it is placed (opposed to fixture). Also: a portable object belonging to a person, such as an article of clothing, a jewel, a tool, etc. Now usually in plural. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > [noun] > piece of movable1523 implements1601 fitment1851 the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > personal or movable property > personal belongings > portable > piece of movable1523 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. clv. 187 They shall pay nothyng for that they may spende aboue v.M.li. nor for their mouables. 1607 B. Jonson Volpone iv. i. sig. I^v I..tooke mee a house, Dealt with my Iewes, to furnish it with moueables . View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) ii. i. 197 You were a mouable. Pet. Why, what's a mouable? Kat. A ioyn'd stoole. View more context for this quotation a1625 J. Fletcher Chances iv. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ccc1/1 Du. But is her name Constantia? Petr. Yes a moveable Belonging to a friend of mine. a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1645 (1955) II. 393 It has in the middle an Hall furnish<ed> with excellent Marbles, & rare Pictures,..the movables are princely & rich. 1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Moveables, Rings, Watches, Swords, and such Toies of value. As we bit all the Cull's Cole and Moveables, we Won all the Man's Money, Rings, Watches, &c. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Parasol A little Moveable, in manner of a Canopy, bore in the Hand to screen the Head from the Sun, Rain, &c. 1820 Ld. Byron Let. 10 Jan. (1977) VII. 24 I wrote to you..for my movables. 1882 W. D. Howells Mod. Instance xx. 247 Most people were then still in the period of green reps and tan terry, and of dull black-walnut movables. 1930 E. Wallace Lady of Ascot xiii. 120 There were active young men..whose graft was to get into first-floor flats and get out quickly with such overcoats, wraps, and movables as could be whisked away in half a minute. 1990 F. Pohl World at End of Time (1993) 54 All the first colonists could do was strip it of its cargo and most of its moveables. †2. In the medieval version of Aristotle's cosmology: each of the concentric spheres (sphere n. 2a) supposed to revolve round the earth. first movable n. = primum mobile n. 1. highest movable n. = first movable n. Obsolete.Cf. mobile n.¹ 1, motor n. 1b, mover n.¹ 1b, moving n. 1b. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > sphere of ancient astronomy > [noun] liftOE heavenOE wheelc1175 welkina1325 spherec1374 elementc1384 firmamentc1386 roundnessa1398 movablec1400 orbc1449 concavity1483 concameration1625 subcelestial1644 orbit1727 the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > sphere of ancient astronomy > [noun] > primum mobile first firmamentc1386 first movablec1400 first-movingc1400 first mobilea1475 primum mobilea1475 first movera1550 primovant1570 motor1586 primovable1625 highest movable1669 c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) i. §17. 10 It departeth the furste Moeuable, þat is to seyn, the spere, in 2 ilike parties. 1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii. i. iii. f. 136 The tenth [sphere] is called the first moueable. a1649 W. Drummond Irene in Wks. (1711) 171 The Planets have a Motion contrary to the first Moveable. 1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. i. 2 The Figure, Number, and Motion made in the Heavens by the highest Moveable called Primum Mobile. 1690 W. Leybourn Cursus mathematicus f. 760 I now enter upon their Hypotheses, that suppose it [sc. the Earth] to be mov'd about the Sun. But before the Phaenomena of the secondary Moveables can be explained by this supposition, we must first understand [etc.]. †3. A changeable or mutable person or thing; a person given to moving from place to place, an itinerant. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > [noun] > one who or that which changes > that favours change movable1621 Young Turk1948 1621–2 W. Laud Serm. 24 Mar. 35 And this is a great Successe. To haue to doe with the greatest mooueables in the world, the people, and not miscarry. 1632 S. Marmion Hollands Leaguer i. i His business Is only to be busy, and his tongue's still walking Though himself be one of the worst moveables. 1658 E. Phillips Myst. Love & Eloquence 175 What is a Tinker?.. He is a moveable, for he hath no certain abiding. †4. a. A thing able to be moved or set in motion. Occasionally: a thing able to move (quot. a1807). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > [noun] > person or thing that moves > that can be moved or set in motion movable1629 1629 H. Burton Truth's Triumph 348 He would remoue this whole terrestriall Globe, if he had but a Ground or Base to fasten his Engine vpon (although the Base must needes be farre bigger than the Moueable). 1656 tr. T. White Peripateticall Inst. 73 If a Moveable be violently struck against a hard resister. 1682 T. Creech tr. Lucretius De natura rerum i. 13 This could not be, were there no empty space, Thro which these Moveables might freely pass. a1807 W. Wordsworth Prelude (1959) vii. 260 All moveables of wonder from all parts, Are here, Albinos, painted Indians, Dwarfs, The Horse of Knowledge, and the learned Pig,..The Wax-work, Clock-work, all the marvellous craft Of modern Merlins. b. spec. A moving part of a watch or clock mechanism. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > instruments for measuring time > watch > [noun] > parts of barrel1591 motion1605 bezel1616 fusee1622 string1638 crown wheel1646 out-case1651 watch-box1656 nuck1664 watchwork1667 balance-wheel1669 box1675 dial wheel1675 counter-potence1678 pendulum-balance1680 watch-case1681 pillar1684 contrate teeth1696 pinion of report1696 watch-hook1698 bob-balance1701 half-cock1701 potence1704 verge1704 pad1705 movable1709 jewel1711 pendant1721 crystal1722 watch-key1723 pendulum spring1728 lock spring1741 watch-glass1742 watch-spring1761 all-or-nothing piece1764 watch hand1764 cylinder1765 cannon?1780 cannon1802 stackfreed1819 pillar plate1821 little hand1829 hair-spring1830 lunette1832 all-or-nothing1843 locking1851 slag1857 staff1860 case spring1866 stem1866 balance-cock1874 watch-dial1875 balance-spring1881 balance-staff1881 Breguet spring1881 overcoil1881 surprise-piece1881 brass edge1884 button turn1884 fourth wheel1884 fusee-sink1884 pair-case1884 silver bar1884 silver piece1884 slang1884 top plate1884 karrusel1893 watch-face1893 watch bracelet1896 bar-movement1903 jewel pivot1907 jewel bearing1954 1709 London Gaz. No. 4599/4 Lost.., a small Gold Watch with a plain Gold Case, the Moveables pretty old. 1779 Philos. Trans. 1778 (Royal Soc.) 68 979 What is meant by a pinion in watch-making is that moveable which is set in action by another of a greater number of teeth. Compounds movable doh n. (also movable do) Music a system of solmization in which doh is the keynote of any major scale; opposed to fixed doh n. at fixed adj. Additions. ΚΠ 1842 R. H. Barham Netley Abbey in Ingoldsby Legends 2nd Ser. 112 Then, you know, They'd a ‘moveable Do’, Not a fixed one as now. 1994 H. Burton Leonard Bernstein i. i. 8 Bernstein would later remember only that he was taught..a simple way to read music, using a rudimentary system of movable ‘doh’. movable kidney n. Medicine (now rare) a kidney that is (or is thought to be) abnormally mobile; a condition characterized by this; cf. floating adj. 3a. ΚΠ 1849 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 16 Jan. 413/1 A moveable kidney can only be passed up and down a little. 1877 tr. H. W. von Ziemssen et al. Cycl. Pract. Med. XV. 763 The clinical history of the movable kidney dates from the time of Rayer. 1989 Urologia Internationalis 44 166 Movable kidney is a debated entity and therefore not diagnosed in many cases. movable rib n. †(a) Anatomy each of the four ribs of the eleventh and twelfth pairs in the human, which are not attached to the sternum ventrally; a floating rib (obsolete rare); (b) Zoology (in tetrapods) a rib that is capable of being moved, esp. one that is free at the ventral end. ΚΠ 1835 R. Owen in Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. I. 280/2 If the moveable ribs had commenced as in Mammalia, by extending to the sternum. 1880 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 171 1047 In the skeleton of Moloch horridus..there are 21 vertebræ between the skull and sacrum; of these, 14 support movable ribs. 1944 Sci. Monthly Aug. 125/2 These membranes [in the flying lizard] are distended partly by the limbs but mainly by the movable ribs. 1989 Science 22 Dec. 1593/2 Most air-breathing fishes, lacking the diaphragm or movable ribs thought necessary for aspiration breathing, use a buccal pulse pump. † movable sign n. Astrology Obsolete = cardinal adj.. ΚΠ 1647 W. Lilly Christian Astrol. vii. 52 If she [sc. the moon] be posited therein, especially in a moodable [sic] Signe, it's an argument of much travell, trotting and trudging. 1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Moveable Signs, the same that are named Cardinal, as Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, as from which the Changes of the Seasons are made in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. 1819 J. Wilson Compl. Dict. Astrol. 165 In a succeedent house, moveable signs give months. 1845 Theologian 2 37 Capricornus..is an earthy,..moveable,..solstitian,..quadrupedal sign. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.n.a1325
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