|
|
Etymology
Dictionary
|
Origin of the word DAB. Etymology of the word
DAB.
|
|
From An Etymology
Dictionary of the English Language, by Walter W. Skeat, 1893 |
|
DAB (1), to strike
gently. (E.) M. E. dabben. 'The
Flemmisshe hem dabbeth o the het bare' = the Flemings strike
them on the bare head; Polit. Songs, ed. Wright, p. 192.
The M. E. sb. is dabbe. 'Philot him gaf anothir dabbe'
= Philotas gave him another blow;' K. Alisaunder, ed. Weber, l.
2406. Now generally associated with the notion of
striking with something soft and moist, a notion imported into the
word by confusion with daub, q.v.; but the orig. sense is
merely to tap. An E. word. + O. Du. dabben,
to pinch, to knead, to fumble, to dabble; Oudemans. + G. tappen,
to grope, fumble; cf. prov. G. tapp, tappe, fist, paw, blow,
kick; Flügel's Dict. Also G. tippen, to tap.
¶ From the G.
tappen we have F. taper, and E. tap. Hence dab and
tap are
doublets. See Tap. Der.
dab, sb. See Dabble.
DAB (2),
expert. (L.?) The phrase 'he is a dab hand at it'
means he is expert at it. Goldsmith has: 'one
writer excels at a plan; ... another is a dab at an
index;' The Bee, no 1. A word of corrupt form, and
generally supposed to be a popular form of adept, which seems
to be the most probable solution. It may have been to
some extent confused with the adj. dapper. See Adept
and Dapper.
|
|
|
| Etymology
Dictionary Index |
| A, B,
C, D, E,
F, G, H,
I, J, K,
L, M, N,
O, P, Q,
R, S, T,
U, V, W,
X, Y, Z
|
|
| Key |
| Arab.=Arabic. |
| A.S.=Anglo
Saxon. |
| Bavar.=Bavarian |
| Bohem.=Bohemian. |
| C.=Celtic,
used as a general term for Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Breton,
Cornish, &c. |
| Corn.=Cornish. |
| Dan.=Danish. |
| Du.=Dutch |
| E.=English. |
| E.E.=Early
English. |
| Europ.=European. |
| F.=French. |
| G.=German. |
| Gk.=Greek. |
| Goth.=Gothic. |
| Icel.=Icelandic. |
| Ital.=Italian. |
| L. or
Lat.=Latin. |
| Lith.
& Lithuan.=Lithuanian. |
| M.E.=Middle
English. |
| M.F.=Middle
French |
| M.H.G.=Middle
High German. |
| Norw.=Norwegian. |
| O.F.=Old
French. |
| O.H.G.=Old
High German. |
| Pers.=Persian. |
| Port.=Portuguese. |
| Scand.=Scandinavian,
used as a general term for Icelandic, Swedish, Danish,
&c. |
| Sc.=Scottish. |
| Skt.=Sanskrit. |
| Span.=Spanish. |
| Swed.=Sweish. |
| Teut.=Teutonic |
| Turk.=Turkish. |
| W.=Welsh. |
|
|
|
|
|
