verb (used with object)
1.
to cover or coat with soft, adhesive matter, as plaster or mud: to daub a canvas with paint; to daub stone walls with mud.
2.
to spread (plaster, mud, etc.) on or over something: to daub plaster on a brick wall.
3.
to smear, soil, or defile.
4.
to apply, as paint or colors, unskillfully.
verb (used without object)
5.
to daub something.
6.
to paint unskillfully.
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Daub
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to flee; abscond: |
noun
7.
material, especially of an inferior kind, for daubing walls.
8.
something daubed on.
9.
an act of daubing.
10.
a crude, inartistic painting.
Origin:
1275–1325; (v.) Middle English dauben < Anglo-French, Old French dauber to whiten, paint < Latin dealbāre, equivalent to de-, prevocalic variant of dē- de- + albāre to whiten, derivative of albus white; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the v.
1275–1325; (v.) Middle English dauben < Anglo-French, Old French dauber to whiten, paint < Latin dealbāre, equivalent to de-, prevocalic variant of dē- de- + albāre to whiten, derivative of albus white; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the v.
Related forms
daub·er, noun
daub·ing·ly, adverb
daub·y, adjective
un·daubed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To daub
Collins
World English Dictionary
daub (dɔːb) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | (tr) to smear or spread (paint, mud, etc), esp carelessly |
| 2. | (tr) to cover or coat (with paint, plaster, etc) carelessly |
| 3. | to paint (a picture) clumsily or badly |
| —n | |
| 4. | an unskilful or crude painting |
| 5. | See also wattle and daub something daubed on, esp as a wall covering |
| 6. | a smear (of paint, mud, etc) |
| 7. | the act of daubing |
| [C14: from Old French dauber to paint, whitewash, from Latin dealbāre, from albāre to whiten, from albus white] | |
| 'dauber | |
| —n | |
| 'dauby | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
daub
early 14c., from O.Fr. dauber "to whitewash, plaster," probably from L. dealbare, from de- "thoroughly" + albare "to whiten," from albus "white." Painting sense is from 1630.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The committee put a red daub on the map to indicate trouble.
His body is covered with both bacteria and amino acids, all of which his make-up artists lovingly daub.
But her lovely, smiling features are quite unrecognizable in this clumsy daub.
Some daub their faces with brightly colored zinc protective cream.
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