Fabler

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person skilled in crafting imaginative narratives that often include moral lessons through the use of allegory and typically involve anthropomorphic characters
2. An individual who creates fictional stories, particularly those that convey ethical messages through the personification of animals and other beings
3. A storyteller known for weaving imaginative tales that often incorporate moral teachings using allegorical elements and anthropomorphized characters

Etymology: "Fabler" is a plain English formation: the noun "fable" with the agentive suffix "-er," meaning one who performs the action. A fabler is therefore a person who composes fables, the short tales in which animals or other non-human beings speak and act, usually to point a moral. The suffix itself has a long pedigree. It descends through Old English "-ere," which attached to verbs and nouns to name a doer, and it ties back to Latin "-arius," a suffix denoting a person connected with a trade or activity. Latin "-arius" passed into Old French as "-ier," and Middle English took the suffix over in forms such as "-er" that English speakers now apply freely to new words. The base word "fable" arrived in English through Old French from Latin "fabula," meaning a story or tale, which is itself related to "fari," to speak. The noun "fabler" is a relatively transparent coinage: it adds nothing to the meaning of "fable" beyond identifying the person who makes such stories.

Synonyms: storyteller, narrator, teller, fabulist