[dab-uh
l] 
verb, -bled, -bling.| 1. | to play and splash in or as if in water, esp. with the hands. |
| 2. | to work at anything in an irregular or superficial manner: to dabble in literature. |
| 3. | (of a duck) to feed on shallow-water vegetation with rapid, splashing movements of the bill. |
| 4. | to wet slightly in or with a liquid; splash; spatter. |
| 5. | Chiefly South Midland U.S. to wash or rinse off lightly. |
| dab·ble (dāb'əl) v. dab·bled, dab·bling, dab·bles v. tr. To splash or spatter with or as if with a liquid: "The moon hung over the harbor dabbling the waves with gold" (Katherine Mansfield). v. intr.
[Possibly from Dutch dabbelen, frequentative of dabben, to strike, tap.] |