meaning of stable vs. stabile
These two words have similar meanings, with a subtle difference.
- stable
- (adjective) steady in position or balance; not easily disrupted; sane or rational
- ‘That rickety old ladder doesn’t look very stable.’
- stabile
- (adjective) immobile, stationary; resistant to physical or chemical change, unchangeable
- ‘For use in steamfloods, tubulars must have coatings that are stabile in salt water up to 500°F.’
- (noun) Art: A free-standing abstract sculpture or structure, typically of wire or sheet metal, in the style of a mobile but rigid and stationary.
English-Dutch
stable (English)
- constant
- stal (voor paarden)
- stabiel
- stabiel
- [ELECTRON., PHYS.] stabiel
stabile (English)
- stabile (abstract kunstwerk zonder bewegende delen)
- stabiel; immobiel, stationair
OED
stabile, a. 1.1 Firmly established, enduring, lasting. rare. Used by a few writers to express more unequivocally the etymological sense of stable a. 2.2 Fixed in position; spec. in Electro-therapeutics, held firmly upon one point or over one part (as opposed to labile a. 4). stabile, n. A rigid sculpture or similar construction of wire, sheet metal, etc., of a type first developed by Alexander Calder 1898–1976), Amer. sculptor and painter, opp. mobile n.3 1 a. (The name was suggested by Jean Arp.)