varIable, vary able

& s. [French, from Latin variabilis, from vario =to diversify, to vary.] A. As adjective : 1. Capable of varying, changing, or altering in a physical sense; liable to variation or change; changeable. "Forms are variable , and decay By course of kinde, and by occasion." Spenser: F. Q., III. vi. 38. 2. Capable of being varied, altered, or changed; subject to being changed; as, to place a number of bodies in a position variable at pleasure. 3. Liable to change, vary, or alter in a moral sense; mutable, changeable, fickle, inconstant, unsteady. "Lest that thy love prove likewise variable ." Shakesp.: Romeo and Juliet , ii. 2. B. As substantive: I. Ordinary Language : 1. That which is variable; that which varies or is liable or subject to vary, change, or alter. 2. A shifting wind, as opposed to a trade wind; hence, the variables , the space, region, or belt intermediate between the northeast and the southeast trade winds. This region varies in width from about 150 to 500 miles, being widest in September and narrowest in December or January, and is characterized by calms, shifting breezes, and sometimes violent squalls. II. Math .: A variable quantity; a quantity which may be regarded as in a state of continual increase or decrease. variable-ixalus, s. Zool.: Ixalus variabilis , a small tree-frog, from Ceylon. The body is about an inch and a half long, and the hind limbs greatly developed. The coloration is very variable.