fabular

Fabular is an English adjective used to describe things that pertain to fables or fable-like storytelling. Derived from Latin fabula, meaning "story" or "tale," the term is primarily found in literary, folklore, and narratological contexts rather than everyday usage. When something is described as fabular, it is typically concerned with the didactic or moral dimensions common to traditional fables, or it emulates the characteristics of fable literature, such as anthropomorphism, concise plots, and a clear moral outcome.

In scholarly usage, fabular is used to distinguish fable-centric narratives from other narrative modes. Fabular narratives may foreground a moral lesson, employ talking animals, or present a compact structure that highlights virtue or vice. The term is closely related to the noun fabula, a key concept in narratology that designates the content or the chronological sequence of events in a story, as distinct from its presentation (syuzhet).

The usage of fabular can appear in discussions of children's literature, folklore, and allegorical fiction. It is relatively specialized; in many contexts authors will instead use phrases such as fable-like, fabulist, or allegorical to convey similar ideas.

Etymology: from Latin fabula "story" or "tale"; the adjective fabular developed in English under the influence of Latin and Romance forms.

See also: fable, fabula, syuzhet, fabulist, allegory.