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English
Performing the dab dance move
Dabbing hash oil
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English dabben ( “ to strike ” ) , probably of North Germanic origin, related to Old Icelandic dabba ( “ to tap, slap ” ) , perhaps ultimately imitative. Compare also with Middle Dutch dabben ( “ to pinch, knead, fumble, dabble ” ) (Dutch dabben ( “ (of a horse) to stamp with the forelegs ” ) ), Dutch deppen ( “ to dab ” ) , possibly German tappen ( “ to fumble, grope ” ) .
The noun is from Middle English dabbe ( “ a strike, blow ” ) , from the verb. Related to tap . Compare also drub , dub .
African-American sense of “playful box” perhaps influenced by dap ( “ fistbump ” ) .
Verb
dab (third-person singular simple present dabs , present participle dabbing , simple past and past participle dabbed )
( transitive ) To press lightly in a repetitive motion with a soft object without rubbing.
I dabbed my face with a towel.
( transitive ) To apply a substance in this way.
He dabbed moisturizing liquid on his face.
To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust.
1532-1533 , Thomas More , The Confutation of Tyndale's Answer
to dabbe him in the necke
( slang ) To apply hash oil to a heated surface for the purpose of efficient combustion.
( dance , intransitive ) To perform the dab dance move, by moving both arms to one side of the body parallel with your head.
Translations
Noun
Hash oil, aka dab
dab (plural dabs )
A soft tap or blow ; a blow or peck from a bird's beak; an aimed blow.
1865 , Charles Dickens , Our Mutual Friend :I promise you nothing,' said the dolls' dressmaker, dabbing two dabs at him with her needle, as if she put out both his eyes.
1917 , Robert Hichens , In the Wilderness :Then the minute feet made feeble dabs , or stabs, at the atmosphere; the tiny fists doubled themselves and wandered to and fro as if in search of the enemy.
( African-American Vernacular ) A soft, playful box given in greeting or approval.
Coordinate terms: dap , fist bump , high five
2006 , Greta X, Angela Pearson, Whipsdom , page 75 :She gave a few more dabs to his buttocks. “There. By the time you've made love to me those weals will have dried up.”
2010 , Adrianne Byrd, Body Heat , page 177 :The men gave each other dabs and another bear hug.
2010 , De'nesha Diamond, Hustlin' Divas , page 197 :I step closer to Profit and draw in a deep, steadying breath while the brothers exchange dabs . “What's up, fam? I see you finally made it.”
A small amount, a blob of some soft or wet substance.
Synonym: blob
a dab of glue
( slang ) A small amount of hash oil .
( chiefly in the plural , dated , British ) Fingerprint .
2022 , Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic , page 132 :One had Glash's dabs on it and a half-inch of Macallan at the bottom.
( dance ) A hip hop dance move in which the dancer simultaneously drops the head while raising an arm, briefly resting their face in the elbow, as if sneezing into their elbow.
( obsolete ) A dabbler .
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
Translations
Adverb
dab (not comparable )
With a dab, or sudden contact .
Translations
See also
Etymology 2
Perhaps corrupted from adept .
Noun
dab (plural dabs )
One skilful or proficient ; an expert; an adept .
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:skilled person
c. 1759-1770? , Oliver Goldsmith , Essay
One excels at a plan or the title page, another works away at the body of the book, and the third is a dab at an index.
1791-92 , Jane Austen , ‘A Collection of Letters’, Juvenilia :
Indeed I had always heard what a dab he was at a Love-letter.
Derived terms
Translations
one skilful or proficient, an expert, an adept
Etymology 3
Late Middle English dabbe , of unknown origin; perhaps related to sense 1 ( “ to press against lightly ” ) as in "a soft mass dabbed down."
Noun
dab (plural dabs )
A small flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae , especially Limanda limanda ; a flounder.
( US ) A sand dab , a small flatfish of genus Citharichthys .
Descendants
Translations
flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae
Etymology 4
Back slang for bad .
Adjective
dab (comparative more dab , superlative most dab )
( obsolete , costermongers ) Bad .
Synonym: trosseno
Antonyms: doog , doogheno
1851 , Henry Mayhew , “Habits and Amusements of Costermongers”, in London Labour and the London Poor , volume 1, page 11 :Business topics are discussed in a most peculiar style. One man takes the pipe from his mouth and says, "Bill made a doogheno hit this morning." "Jem," says another, to a man just entering, "you'll stand a top o' reeb?" "On," answers Jem, "I've had a trosseno tol, and have been doing dab ."
2012 , Anthony Quinn, The Streets , →ISBN , page 33 :One afternoon, arriving at his stall later than usual, I said, almost unknowingly, 'A doogheno or a dabheno?' Jo, who had often chaffed me for my awkward mimicking of coster language, didn't even look up from peeling his apple. 'Dab ,' he said, with a little shake of his head.
References
^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024 ) “dab ”, in Online Etymology Dictionary .
^ Skeat, W. W. (2013). An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. United States: Dover Publications, p. 152
Further reading
Anagrams
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from English dab .
Pronunciation
Noun
dab m (uncountable )
( dance ) The dab ( hip-hop dance move ) .
Related terms
Indonesian
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From English dub , a shortening of the word double .
Noun
dab (first-person possessive dabku , second-person possessive dabmu , third-person possessive dabnya )
dub : the replacement of a voice part in a movie or cartoon, particularly with a translation; an instance of dubbing.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Arabic ضَبّ ( ḍabb ) , from Proto-Semitic *ṣ́abb- .
Noun
dab (first-person possessive dabku , second-person possessive dabmu , third-person possessive dabnya )
dabb lizard , Egyptian mastigure , Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard , Leptien's mastigure , Egyptian uromastyx , or Egyptian dabb lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia ).
Synonym: kadal gurun
Etymology 3
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium .)
Noun
dab (first-person possessive dabku , second-person possessive dabmu , third-person possessive dabnya )
a kind of mat measuring approximately 2 m, made of woven pandan leaves that are connected by stitching
Further reading
Maltese
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Arabic ذَابَ ( ḏāba ) .
Pronunciation
Verb
dab (imperfect jdub , verbal noun dewbien or dwib or dwieb ) ( intransitive )
to melt ( become liquid, especially through warmth )
to disappear
to become emaciated
to show tender feelings
Conjugation
Somali
Noun
dab m
fire
firearm
Verb
dab
to trap
to ensnare
References
Abdirahman Abdillahi Farah "Barwaago" (1995 ) “dab”, in A Modern Somali-English Dictionary , Ottawa: Ottawa Catholic School Board , →ISBN , page 89
Puglielli, Annarita, Mansuur, Cabdalla Cumar (2012 ) “dab”, in Qaamuuska Af-Soomaliga , Rome: RomaTrE-Press , →ISBN , page 167
Sumerian
Romanization
dab
Romanization of 𒁳 ( dab )
White Hmong
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Proto-Hmong-Mien *qlaŋ ( “ neck ” ) ; related to Old Chinese 頸 (OC *keŋʔ, *ɡeŋ , “neck”).
Noun
dab
( in compounds ) neck or other narrow object
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Proto-Hmong *qraŋᴬ ( “ spirit, ghost ” ) .
Noun
dab
(evil ) spirit , considered responsible for epileptic attacks among other things
demon
monster
Derived terms
Etymology 3
From Proto-Hmong *qroŋᴬ ( “ trough ” ) .
Noun
dab ( classifier: lub )
a trough , a hollowed out length of log etc.
Derived terms
dab dej ( “ a trough for holding water ” ) dab nees ( “ a horse feeding trough ” ) dab npua ( “ a trough for pig food ” ) dab zaub ( “ a trough for putting vegetable greens in ” )
References
Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979 ) White Hmong — English Dictionary , SEAP Publications, →ISBN , pages 28-9 .
^ Ratliff, Martha (2010 ) Hmong-Mien language history (Studies in Language Change; 8), Camberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics, →ISBN , page 260; 273 .
↑ 2.0 2.1 Ratliff, Martha (2010 ) Hmong-Mien language history (Studies in Language Change; 8), Camberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics, →ISBN , page 273 .
Yola
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English dabben .
Pronunciation
Noun
dab
dash , slap
touch , tap
1867 , “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY , number 5, page 96 :To his sweethearth, an smack lick a dab of a brough. To his sweetheart, and smacked like a slap of a shoe.
References
Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland , London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867 , page 33