Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

scribble

 - 5 dictionary results

scrib⋅ble

1[skrib-uhl] verb, -bled, -bling, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to write hastily or carelessly: to scribble a letter.
2. to cover with meaningless writing or marks: to scribble all over a page.
–verb (used without object)
3. to write or draw in a hasty or careless way.
4. to make meaningless marks, scrolls, lines, etc., with a pencil, pen, or the like.
–noun
5. a note or other writing that has little or no meaning.
6. a hasty or careless drawing or piece of writing.
7. handwriting, esp. when illegible.

Origin:
1425–75; late ME scribblen (v.) < ML scrībillāre to scribble, deriv. of L scrībere to write; see shrive


scrib⋅bling⋅ly, adverb

scrib⋅ble

2[skrib-uhl]
–verb (used with object), -bled, -bling.
to tear apart (wool fibers) in the first stages of carding.

Origin:
1675–85; < D schribbelen to scratch; c. schrobbelen to card wool coarsely, freq. of schrobben to scrub 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To scribble
scrib·ble   (skrĭb'əl)   
v.   scrib·bled, scrib·bling, scrib·bles

v.   tr.
  1. To write hurriedly without heed to legibility or style.

  2. To cover with scribbles, doodles, or meaningless marks.

v.   intr.
To write or draw in a hurried careless way.
n.  
  1. Careless hurried writing.

  2. Meaningless marks and lines.


[Middle English scriblen, probably from scriben, to write, from Latin scrībere, to write; see skrībh- in Indo-European roots.]
scrib'bly adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

scribble  (v.)
c.1465, from M.L. scribillare, dim. of L. scribere "to write" (see script). The noun is from 1577. Scribbler "petty author" is from 1553.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Computing Dictionary

scribble
To modify a data structure in a random and unintentionally destructive way. "Bletch! Somebody's disk-compactor program went berserk and scribbled on the i-node table." "It was working fine until one of the allocation routines scribbled on low core." Synonymous with trash; compare mung, which conveys a bit more intention, and mangle, which is more violent and final.
[The Jargon File]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Cite This Source
Search another word or see scribble on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: