dibs

[dibz] Origin

dibs

[dibz]
noun Informal.
1.
money in small amounts.
2.
rights; claims: I have dibs on the car when Jimmy brings it back.

Origin:
1720–30; shortening of earlier dibstones a children's game; see dib

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Dibs is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

dib

[dib]
verb (used without object), dibbed, dib·bing.
to fish by letting the bait bob lightly on the water.

Origin:
1600–10; expressive word akin to dab1, dip1, bob1, etc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
dibs (dɪbz)
 
pl n
1.  another word for jacks
2.  a slang word for money
3.  informal (foll by on) rights (to) or claims (on): used mainly by children
 
[C18: shortened from dibstones children's game played with knucklebones or pebbles, probably from dib to tap, dip, variant of dab1]

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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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dibs
children's word to express a claim on something, 1932, originally U.S., apparently a contraction of dibstone "a knucklebone or jack in a children's game" (1690s), of unknown origin.
EXPAND

dib
see dibs.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

dibs

see have dibs on.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

dibs

game of great antiquity and worldwide distribution, now played with stones, bones, seeds, filled cloth bags, or metal or plastic counters (the jacks), with or without a ball. The name derives from "chackstones"-stones to be tossed. The knuckle, wrist, or ankle bones (astragals) of goats, sheep, or other animals also have been used in play. Such objects have been found in prehistoric caves in Kiev, Ukraine, and pictures of the game are depicted on jars from ancient Greece.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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