Hypertext Webster Gateway: "voluble"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Voluble \Vol"u*ble\, a. [L. volubilis, fr. volvere, volutum, to
roll, to turn round; akin to Gr. ? to infold, to inwrap, ? to
roll, G. welle a wave: cf. F. voluble. Cf. F. {Well} of
water, {Convolvulus}, {Devolve}, {Involve}, {Revolt}, {Vault}
an arch, {Volume}, {Volute}.]
1. Easily rolling or turning; easily set in motion; apt to
roll; rotating; as, voluble particles of matter.
2. Moving with ease and smoothness in uttering words; of
rapid speech; nimble in speaking; glib; as, a flippant,
voluble, tongue.
[Cassio,] a knave very voluble. --Shak.
Note: Voluble was used formerly to indicate readiness of
speech merely, without any derogatory suggestion. ``A
grave and voluble eloquence.'' --Bp. Hacket.
3. Changeable; unstable; fickle. [Obs.]
4. (Bot.) Having the power or habit of turning or twining;
as, the voluble stem of hop plants.
{Voluble stem} (Bot.), a stem that climbs by winding, or
twining, round another body. -- {Vol"u*ble*ness}, n. --
{Vol"u*bly}, adv.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
voluble
adj : marked by a ready flow of speech; "she is an extremely
voluble young woman who engages in soliloquies not
conversations" [ant: {taciturn}]
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