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pebble

[peb-uhl]

Origin

noun

a small, rounded stone, especially one worn smooth by the action of water.

Also called pebble leather. leather that has been given a granulated surface.

any granulated or crinkled surface, especially of a textile.

a transparent colorless rock crystal used for the lenses of eyeglasses.

a lens made from this crystal.

verb (used with object)

to prepare (leather) so as to have a granulated surface.

to pelt with or as with pebbles.

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Pebble is one of our favorite verbs.

So is lollygag. Does it mean:

to spend time idly; loaf.

chat, to converse

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Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English pibbil, puble, pobble; compare Old English pæbbel (in place names), papel-, popel- (in compounds); phonological relations unclear

Related forms

un·peb·bled, adjective

Can be confused: boulder, cobblestone, granule, pebble, rock, stone.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To pebble

Collins

World English Dictionary

pebble (ˈpɛb^əl)

—n
1.	a. a small smooth rounded stone, esp one worn by the action of water
	b. geology a rock fragment, often rounded, with a diameter of 4--64 mm and thus smaller than a cobble but larger than a granule
2.	a. a transparent colourless variety of rock crystal, used for making certain lenses
	b. such a lens
3.	informal (modifier) (of a lens or of spectacles) thick, with a high degree of magnification or distortion
4.	a. a grainy irregular surface, esp on leather
	b. leather having such a surface
5.	informal chiefly (Austral) a troublesome or obstinate person or animal

—vb
6.	to pave, cover, or pelt with pebbles
7.	to impart a grainy surface to (leather)

[Old English papolstān, from papol- (perhaps of imitative origin) + stān stone]

'pebbly

—*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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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

pebble

late 13c., from O.E. papolstan "pebblestone," of unknown origin.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

pebble (pěb'əl) Pronunciation Key
A rock fragment larger than a granule and smaller than a cobble. Pebbles have a diameter between 4 and 64 mm (0.16 and 2.56 inches) and are often rounded.

FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

Pebble definition

A polymorphic language.
["A Kernel Language for Abstract Data Types and Modules", R.M. Burstall & B. Lampson, in Semantics of Data Types, LNCS 173, Springer 1984].
(1995-01-26)

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

pebble

see not the only fish in the sea (pebble on the beach).

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