Definitions and meaning of dab
dab
English
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /dab/
- (US) IPA(key): /dæb/
-
- Rhymes: -ab, -æb
Etymology 1
From Middle English dabben (“to strike”), probably of North Germanic origin, related to Old Icelandic dabba (“to tap, slap”), perhaps ultimately imitative. Compare also with Middle Dutch dabben (“to pinch, knead, fumble, dabble”) (Dutch dabben (“(of a horse) to stamp with the forelegs”)), Dutch deppen (“to dab”), possibly German tappen (“to fumble, grope”).
The noun is from Middle English dabbe (“a strike, blow”), from the verb. Related to tap. Compare also drub, dub.
African-American sense of “playful box” perhaps influenced by dap (“fistbump”).
Verb
dab (third-person singular simple present dabs, present participle dabbing, simple past and past participle dabbed)
- (transitive) To press lightly in a repetitive motion with a soft object without rubbing.
- (transitive) To apply a substance in this way.
- To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust.
- 1532-1533, Thomas More, The Confutation of Tyndale's Answer
- to dabbe him in the necke
- (slang) To apply hash oil to a heated surface for the purpose of efficient combustion.
- (dance, intransitive) To perform the dab dance move; to move both arms, parallel with one's head, to either side of the body.
- (bingo) Synonym of daub (to mark a bingo card)
Derived terms
Translations
Noun
dab (plural dabs)
- A soft tap or blow; a blow or peck from a bird's beak; an aimed blow.
- Synonyms: bump, pat, spat, tit
- (African-American Vernacular) A soft, playful box given in greeting or approval.
- Coordinate terms: dap, fist bump, high five
- A small amount, a blob of some soft or wet substance.
- Synonyms: blob; see also Thesaurus:modicum
- (slang) A small amount of hash oil.
- (chiefly in the plural, dated, British) Fingerprint.
- (dance) A hip hop dance move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm, briefly resting their face in the elbow, as if sneezing into their elbow.
- (obsolete) A dabbler.
- Synonyms: amateur, dilettante
Derived terms
- dab pen
- poor dab
- smack-dab
Related terms
Descendants
Translations
Adverb
dab (not comparable)
- With a dab, or sudden contact.
Translations
See also
Etymology 2
Unknown. First use in print was in 1691, in The Athenian Mercury; it is also found in the Dictionary of the Canting Crew of 1698; see quotations for both. Originally used in the cant of criminals, and later in school slang. It may be a profound alteration of adept, likely from deliberate slangy usage thereof (rather than natural sound-change), which if true would give such earlier forms as *adep (or *dept) > *dep > *deb.
Noun
dab (plural dabs)
- One who is skilful or proficient; an expert; an adept.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:skilled person
Derived terms
- dab hand
- dab-handed
- dabster
Translations
References
Etymology 3
Late Middle English dabbe, of unknown origin; perhaps related to sense 1 (“to press against lightly”) as in "a soft mass dabbed down."
Noun
dab (plural dabs)
- A small flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae, especially Limanda limanda; a flounder.
- (US) A sand dab, a small flatfish of genus Citharichthys.
Descendants
Translations
Etymology 4
Back slang for bad.
Adjective
dab (comparative more dab, superlative most dab)
- (obsolete, costermongers) Bad.
- Synonym: trosseno
- Antonyms: doog, doogheno
References
Further reading
- dab on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- dab (dance) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Oxford English Dictionary (1989)
- “dab”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
See also
- dab bong, dab rig, dabchick (etymologically relation unclear)
Anagrams
- ABD, ADB, Abd., BDA, D.B.A., DBA, abd., bad, d/b/a, dba
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from English dab.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dɛp/
-
- Hyphenation: dab
- Rhymes: -ɛp
Noun
dab m (uncountable)
- (dance) the dab (hip-hop dance move)
Related terms
Indonesian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈdap̚]
- Hyphenation: dab
Etymology 1
From English dub, a shortening of the word double.
Noun
dab (plural dab-dab)
- dub: the replacement of a voice part in a movie or cartoon, particularly with a translation; an instance of dubbing
- Synonyms: alih suara, sulih suara
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Arabic ضَبّ (ḍabb), from Proto-Semitic *ṣ́abb-.
Noun
dab (plural dab-dab)
- dabb lizard, Egyptian mastigure, Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard, Leptien's mastigure, Egyptian uromastyx, or Egyptian dabb lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia)
- Synonym: kadal gurun
Etymology 3
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
dab (plural dab-dab)
- a kind of mat measuring approximately 2 m, made of woven pandan leaves that are connected by stitching
Further reading
- “dab” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.
Maltese
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Arabic ذَابَ (ḏāba).
Pronunciation
Verb
dab (imperfect jdub, verbal noun dewbien or dwib or dwieb) (intransitive)
- to melt (become liquid, especially through warmth)
- to disappear
- to become emaciated
- to show tender feelings
Conjugation
Somali
Noun
dab m
- fire
- firearm
Verb
dab
- to trap
- to ensnare
References
- Abdirahman Abdillahi Farah "Barwaago" (1995) “dab”, in A Modern Somali-English Dictionary, Ottawa: Ottawa Catholic School Board, →ISBN, page 89
- Puglielli, Annarita, Mansuur, Cabdalla Cumar (2012) “dab”, in Qaamuuska Af-Soomaliga[9], Rome: RomaTrE-Press, →ISBN, page 167
Sumerian
Romanization
dab
- romanization of 𒁳 (dab)
White Hmong
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Proto-Hmong-Mien *qlaŋ (“neck”); related to Old Chinese 頸 (OC *keŋʔ, *ɡeŋ, “neck”).
Noun
dab
- (in compounds) neck or other narrow object
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Proto-Hmong *qraŋᴬ (“spirit, ghost”).
Noun
dab
- (evil) spirit, considered responsible for epileptic attacks among other things
- demon
- monster
Derived terms
Etymology 3
From Proto-Hmong *qroŋᴬ (“trough”).
Noun
dab (classifier: lub)
- a trough, a hollowed out length of log etc.
Derived terms
References
- Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary[10], SEAP Publications, →ISBN, pages 28-9.
Yola
Etymology
From Middle English dabbe.
Pronunciation
Noun
dab
- dash, slap
References
- Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 33
Source: wiktionary.org