Wiktionary

ansible

English

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Etymology

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Coined by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin in 1966 in her novella Rocannon's World; Le Guin states that she derived it from answerable. The word was further spread by its adoption into other science fiction worlds, including by Orson Scott Card in Ender's Game (1986), Vernor Vinge in The Blabber (1988) and Dan Simmons in Hyperion (1989).

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈæn.sɪ.bəl/, /ˈɑːn.sɪ.bəl/

Noun

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ansible (plural ansibles)

  1. (science fiction) A hypothetical device that enables users to communicate instantaneously across great distances; that is, a faster-than-light communication device.
    • 1966, Ursula K. Le Guin, Rocannon's World, reprinted in Worlds of Exile and Illusion, Macmillan (1996), →ISBN, page 25:
      “You remember the ansible, the machine I showed you in the ship, which can speak instantly to other worlds, with no loss of years– […] ”
      “An ansible would theoretically be powered by subatomic particles that have undergone quantum entanglement, which utilizes Einstein's 'spooky action at a distance', allowing the alteration of one particle to instantaneously alter the state of its paired particle. […] ”
    • 1985, Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game, reprinted by Macmillan, published 2002, →ISBN, page 251:
      “ […] The master ansible is there, in contact with all our invasion fleet; the ships are all working, ready to fight. […] ”
    • 2008, Elizabeth Moon, Victory Conditions, reprint by Random House, published 2009, →ISBN, page 39:
      Ky had allotted two hours here, time to strip the news from the ansible, share it, even discuss it, but she didn’t plan to have everyone clustered and vulnerable.

Translations

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Spanish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English ansible.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /anˈsible/ [ãnˈsi.β̞le]
  • Rhymes: -ible
  • Syllabification: an‧si‧ble

Noun

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ansible m (plural ansibles)

  1. (science fiction) ansible
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