Cabiritic 
Cabiritic (kab-i-rit'ik), a. Same as Cabirian. 
Also spelled Cubeiritie. 
cable (ka'bl), H. [< ME. cable, cabel, cabylle = 
MD. D. MLG. LG. MHG. G. Sw. Dan. kabel = 
Icel. kudhall, < OF. cable, F. cable = Sp. cable 
= Pg. cabre = It. cappio, < ML. capulum, cap- 
turn, a cable, a rope, < L. capere, take, hold: see 
capacious, captive, etc.] If. A rope. 
Thogh jelosie be hanged In a caldr. 
Chaucer, Complaint of Venus, 1. 33. 
Specifically 2. (a) A large, strong rope or 
chain, such as is used to hold a vessel at an- 
chor. Ropes made of hemp, jute, or coir were universally 
used in former times, but have now, except in small ves- 
sels and fishing-craft, been superseded by chains. Chain 
cables are generally composed of 8 lengths of 15 fathoms 
each, fastened together with shackles, making in all 120 
fathoms. Swivels are inserted in the different lengths to 
prevent twisting. Cables are also, for special uses, made 
of wires twisted together, (ft) S ee submarine cable, 
below, (c) The traction-rope of a cable-rail- 
road. 3. In arch, : (a) A molding of the torus 
kind, with its surface cut in imitation of the 
twisting of a rope. (b) A cylindrical molding 
inserted in the flute of a column and partly 
filling it. -Endless cable. See endless. Nippering 
the cable. See nipper, f. Submarine or electric- 
telegraph cable, a cable composed of a single wire or 
a strand of wires of pure copper, embedded in protecting 
substances and covered externally by coils of coated iron 
wire, for conveying telegraphic messages under water. 
(See telegraph.) The copper wire, or embedded strand of 
wires, is called the core, and is insulated by layers of gutta- 
percha or india-rubber, each layer being separated from 
the next by a coating of resinous matter. The insulating 
layers are generally separated from the outer wires by a 
padding of jute or hemp saturated with tar or other pro- 
tective substance. One wire is found to be better than a 
strand as regards conducting power ; but the latter is 
safer, since if one wire breaks, messages can still be con- 
veyed through the others. To bltt the cable (iiaut.), to 
wind it around the bitts. To bring a chain cable to. 
See briny. To buoy a cable, to support it by floats to 
keep it clear from a rocky bottom, or to indicate by means 
of buoy and buoy-rope the place where its end lies when 
detached from the ship. To heave a cable short. See 
heave. To nip the cable. See nip, v. To serve a 
cable, to wind rope about it as a protection against chaf- 
ing. To slip the cable, to disconnect it from the ship 
and let it run out, thus freeing the ship from her anchor. 
Wire cables, cables formed by wires, sometimes twisted 
about each other, but, when used for suspension-bridges, 
more commonly laid parallel, bound together, wrapped 
with canvas, and then served, or wound with wire, and 
painted. Each wire is separately stretched and tested. 
cable (ka ' bl), r. ; pret. and pp. cabled, ppr. 
cabling. [< cable, n.] I. trans. 1. To fasten 
with a cable. 
Cast out the cabled stone npon the strand. 
J. Dyer, 1'leece, ii. 
The ship was leisurely chained and cabled to the old 
dock. 6. W. Curtis:, Prue and I, p. 06. 
2. In arch., to fill (the flutes of columns) with 
cables or cylindrical pieces. 3. [Cf. equiv. 
wire, r."] To transmit by a telegraph-cable. 
II. intrans. To send a message by a tele- 
graph-cable. 
cable-bend (ka'bl-bend), n. Naut. : (a) A small 
rope formerly used to fasten the ends of a 
rope cable so as to secure the knot by which it 
is attached to the anchor-ring. (6) The knot 
or clinch by which a cable is attached to an 
anchor. 
cable-carrier (ka'bl-kar"i-er), n. A tub or 
bucket suspended from grooved wheels travel- 
ing on a cable, or directly attached to a mov- 
ing cable, and used to transport sand, minerals, 
or heavy materials on a wire ropeway. See 
wireway. 
cabled (ka'bld), a. [< cable, n., + -ed 2 .] 1. Fas- 
tened or supplied with a cable or cables. 2. 
In arch., having the ornament called a cable. 
Cabled flute, in arch., a flute of a column containing a 
cable-molding. See cable, n., 3. 
cable-drilling (ka'bl-dril"ing), n. Same as 
rope-drilling. 
cablegram (ka'bl-gram), n. [Improp. < cable 
+ -gram, as in telegram.] A message sent by 
a telegraph-cable ; a cable-despatch. [Colloq.] 
cable-gripper (ka'bl-gi-ip^er), n. Naut., a de- 
vice placed over a cable-well to prevent the 
cable from running out. 
cable-hatband (ka'bl-hat"band), . A kind 
of hatband consisting of a twisted cord, worn 
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and 
in some modern uniforms. 
I had on a gold cable-hatbaml, then new come up which 
I wore about a murrey French hat. 
B. Jomon, Every Man out of his Humour. 
Cable-hook (ka'bl-huk), n. A gripping device 
for handling a ship's cable. 
cable-laid (ka'bl-lad), a. 1. Naut., formed of 
three strands of plain-laid or ordinary rope. 
Hope for cables is made in this way so as to be more im- 
748 
pervious to water, but cable-laid rope is about 30 per cent, 
weaker than plain-laid rope of the same size. Hope cables 
are from 10 to 26 inches in circum- 
ference. 
2. Twisted after the manner 
of a cable : as, a cable-laid gold 
chain. 
cable-molding (ka'bl-mol"- 
ding), n. Same as cable, 3. 
cable-nipper (ka'bl-nip"er), n. 
A device for securing to a ca- 
ble the messenger or rope by 
which it is handled. 
cable-railroad (ka'bl-ral'- 
rod), n. A street- or other 
railroad in which the cars are 
moved by an endless cable 
traveling in a small tunnel 
under the roadway, and kept cable-laid Rope, 
in motion by a stationary en- 
gine. Hotion is communicated to 
the cars by means of a grip extended through a slot in the 
covering of the tunnel, and so arranged as to be under the 
control of thebrakeman. Also called cableway. 
cable-road (ka'bl-rod), n. Same as cable-rail- 
road. 
cable-screw (ka'bl-skro), n. A small screw 
resembling a twisted cord, used as a fastening 
for the soles of boots and shoes. 
cable's-length (ka'blz-length), n. An approx- 
imate measure of length, generally considered 
to be 100 fathoms = 600 feet, or ^ of a nautical 
mile : frequently used in sailing directions for 
navigators. 
cable-Stopper (ka'bl-stop"er), n. Naut., a de- 
vice to prevent a cable from running out. it 
generally consists of a short piece of stout rope, with a 
hook in one end and a knot or toggle in the other. One 
end is hooked to a ring-bolt in the deck, and the other is 
lashed to the cable. See stopper. 
cablet (ka'blet), . [Dim. of cable. Cf. F. ca- 
blot and cdbleau, cablet.] A little cable ; spe- 
cifically, any cable-laid rope under 9 inches in 
circumference. 
cable-tier (ka'bl-ter), n. The place in the hold 
of a ship where rope cables are stowed. 
cable-tire (ka'bl-tlr), . A large rope for rais- 
ing weights. 
cable-tools (ka'bl-tolz), . pi. Tools used in 
cable-drilling or rope-drilling. The length of the 
set of tools attached to uie rope, or used in rope-drilling, 
in Pennsylvania, is about 62 feet, and the weight nearly a 
ton. The separate parts are the rope-socket, sinker-bar, 
jars, auger-stem, and bit. 
cableway (ka'bl-wa), n. Same as cable-rail- 
road. 
cabling (ka'bling), . [< cable, n., 3 (b), + 
-ingl.J 1. The filling of the flutes of a column 
with cable-moldings. Hence 2. The cable- 
moldings themselves. 
cablish (kab'lish), n. [< OF. "cablis, chablis, 
F. chablis, wind-fallen wood (ML. cablieia) (cf. 
equiv. OF. cable, caable, pi. caables, equiv. to 
chablis), < "cabler, chabler, in comp. accabler, cast 
down: see aceable.] In old forest laic, wind- 
fall wood ; wood thrown down by tempestuous 
weather: also sometimes applied to brushwood. 
cabman (kab'man), n. ; pi. cabmen (-men). [< 
cfl&l + man.] The driver of a cab. 
It is said that not long ago a certain Prince Krapotkin 
gained his living as a cabman in St. Petersburg. 
D. M. Wallace, Russia, p. 283. 
cabob, kabob (ka-bob'), n. [Anglo-Ind., < Pers. 
kabaub, kibaub, roast meat, < Mb, an ox.] 1. 
An Oriental dish consisting of small pieces of 
beef or mutton, seasoned with pepper, salt, gin- 
ger, etc., and basted with oil and garlic while 
being roasted on a skewer or spit, sweet herbs 
being sometimes placed between the pieces. 
Cabobs, or meat roasted in small pieces, that may be eat 
without dividing. Pococke, Description of the East, I. 57. 
2. An Anglo-Indian name for roast meat in 
general. Yule and Burnell. 3. A leg of mut- 
ton stuffed with white herrings and sweet herbs. 
Wright. 
Also spelled kabab, cobob. 
cabob, kabob (ka-bob'), v. t. ; pret. and pp. 
cabobbed, kabobbed, ppr. cabobbing, kabobbing. 
[< cabob, n.'] To make cabob of; roast, as a leg 
of mutton, with savory herbs, spices, etc., at a 
quick fire. Sir T. Herbert. Also spelled kabab, 
cobob. 
caboceer (kab-o-ser'), . [Prob. < Pg. cabeeeira, 
the head, chief, < cabega, the head: see ca- 
beca.] The name given to local governors in 
western Africa appointed by the king over 
towns or districts. 
Romer once peeped in at an open door, and found an 
old negro caboceer sitting among twenty thousand fetishes 
in his private fetish-museum, . . . performing his devo- 
tions. E. B. Tylor, Prim. Culture, II. 145. 
cabr6 
cabochet, . [< OF. caboclic, the head, < It. ca- 
pocchia, knob of a stick, etc., < capo, < L. cttput, 
head. As a fish-name, cf. cabos, eel-pout, MD. 
ka bit i/s-hoaftl, the bullhead, from the same ult. 
source; OF. cabot, "the gull-fish, bullhead, 
miller's-thumb " ; caboie, "as cabot; or (more 
properly) a gurnard" (Cotgrave) : see caboshed, 
cabbage 1 , cabbage 2 , and cf. the E. name bull- 
head.] 1. Ahead. See cabbage 2 . 2. A name 
of the miller's-thumb or bullhead. 3. A tad- 
pole. E. D. 
caboched, a. See caboshed. 
cabochon (ka-bo-shon'), . [F. (=Sp. cabujon 
= Pg. cabuchao), < caboclic, head, pate : see ca- 
boche.] A polished but uncut precious stone. 
En cabochon, in the style of a caboclion, that is, rounded 
convex on top, and flat, concave, or convex on the back, 
without facets. Garnets, turquoise, moonstone, cat's-eye, 
asteria, and other gems are cut in this form. 
cabocle (ka-bok'le), H. The Brazilian name of 
a mineral resembling red jasper, found in the 
diamond-producing sand of Bahia. It contains 
phosphoric acid, alumina, lime, baryta, protoxid 
of iron, and water. 
Cabomba (ka-bom'ba), . [Native Guiana 
name.] A genus of aquatic plants, known as 
water-shields, of the natural order A'ympheeaceie, 
with small shield-shaped floating leaves and 
finely dissected submerged ones, and small 
trimerous flowers. There are two or three species, 
natives of the warmer portions of America, of which one 
species, C. Caroliniana-, is found in stagnant waters along 
the southern coast of the United States. Cabantba was 
formerly classed in a separate family Cabonibacece with 
the single other genus Ili/dropeltis or Braxenia, the North 
American water-shield. See Iliidropettis. 
caboodle (ka-bo'dl), . [A slang term, con- 
jectured to be a corruption of kit and boodle : 
see boodle^.] Crowd; pack; lot; company: 
used only with whole: as, the whole caboodle 
(that is, the whole number, crowd, or quantity). 
[Slang.] 
It would not even make me raise my eyebrows to hear 
to-morrow morning that the whole caboodle had been sold 
out. New York Times, Sept. 2, 1887. 
The whole caboodle came out and fell upon me. 
Picayune (New Orleans), 1'eb. 23, 1858. 
cabook (ka-bok') ( The name given in Ceylon 
to a rock which is there extensively used as a 
building-stone. It is gneiss in a peculiar stage of de- 
composition, and, although soft and easily quarried, it 
hardens on exposure to the air. The gneiss contains 
much magnetic iron disseminated through it, and it is the 
decomposition of this mineral which gives to the soil the 
ferruginous tinge conspicuous in parts of Ceylon. 
cabooleat (ka-bo'le-at), n. [< Hind, kabuliyat, 
a written agreement, < kabul, consent.] An 
agreement made between the Indian govern- 
ment and the zemindars, or feudatory landhold- 
ers, for the farming, management, and collec- 
tion of the revenue. 
caboose (ka-bos'), n. [Also caboose; < D. kabuis 
= MLG. kabuse, LG. kabuse, kabuse (> G. A-a- 
buse) = Dan. kabys = Sw. kabysa; also E. cam- 
boose, < F. cambuse, < D. kombuis, a ship's gal- 
ley, formerly also a booth, hut, store-room; 
perhaps from same root as cabin, q. v.] 1. The 
cook-room or kitchen on shipboard ; a galley ; 
specifically, the inclosed fireplace, hearth, or 
stove used for cooking on small vessels. 
The lawn is studded with cabooaex, over one of which a 
Councillor may be seen carefully skimming the water 
covering his twelve-pound salmon. 
The Century, XXVI. 550. 
2. A car for the use of the conductor, brake- 
men, etc., on a freight-train. [U. S.] 
cabos (ka-bos'), n. [See caboche.] A name 
of the eel-pout. 
caboshed, caboched (ka-boshf), [< caboche 
+ -ed' 2 , after F. caboche, < caboche, a head: see 
caboche, cabbage 2 .] In her., 
represented alone and affront^ : 
said of the head of a stag or roe- 
buck when no part of the neck 
is seen. Also cabossed, cabaged. 
cabossed (ka-bosf), a. Same 
as caboshed. 
cabot (ka-bo'), . [F.dial.] A 
dry measure in general use in 
the island of Jersey. The small 
cabot, used for wheat, is -fa of an Knglish bushel. The 
larrje cabot, for barley, etc., is one third hirm-r. As with 
the bushel, equivalent weights are used, \vliirh vary with 
the bulkiness of the material. 
cabotage (kab'o-taj), . [F. (= It. cabottag- 
ffio), < caboter, coast, lit. go from cape to cape, 
< Sp. cabo, cape : see cape 2 .] Naut., navigation 
along a coast; coasting-trade. 
cabre (ka-bra'), a. [P., pp. of cabrer, rear, < 
OF. cabre (F. cherre), < Sp. cabra, < L. capra, a 
