Meaning

noun a telegram sent abroad

noun a conductor for transmitting electrical or optical signals or electric power

noun a very strong thick rope made of twisted hemp or steel wire

originRecorded since c.1205 as Middle English cable, from Old Northern French cable, from Late Latin capulum (“lasso, rope, halter”), from Latin capiō (“to take, seize”). Use of the term "cable" to refer to the USD/GBP exchange rate originated in the mid-19th century, when the exchange rate began to be transmitted across the Atlantic by a submarine communications cable.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0