dab, daub

t. & i. [Cognate with O. Dut. dappen to pinch, to knead, to dabble; Ger. tappen =to grope, to fumble. It is a doublet of tap (q. v.). ( Skeat.)] A. Transitive : I. Ordinary Language: *1. To strike gently, to tap, to prick. "St. Paul himself confe eth that for a medicine pre servative against pride there was given to him the prick of the flesh to dab him in the neck."- Sir T More. IMG:content-1729.png:[blocks in formation] *3. To fall with a noise, to patter down. "Encombrid in my clothes that dabbing down from me did droppe." Phaer. Virgil's Æneid , bk. vi. 4. To fish in a particular manner. (See example.) "And this way of fishing we call daping , dabbing , or dibbing , wherein you are always to haue your line flying before you-up, or down the river, as the wind serves and to angle as near as you can to the bank of the same side whereon you stand."- Walton : Angler , pt. ii., ch. v. IMG:content-1730.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-1731.png:[blocks in formation] 1. Printing: The original inking-apparatus for a form of type, It consisted of a ball of cloth or skin stuffed with an elastic material. Two of them were used, one in each hand. One of them being dabbed upon the inking-table to gather a quantity of ink, the balls were then rubbed together so as to spread it uniformly. This was done while the pull was being made, and when the bed was withdrawn from below the platen, and the printed sheet removed, the a istant, working actively with both hands, inked the surface of the form. Another form of dabber is a roll of cloth, the end of which is used for inking an engraved copperplate. 2. Engraving : A silk or leather ball, stuffed with wool, used in the first proce of engraving, for spreading the ground upon the hot plates. dăb-bing, daub-ing, pr. par., a. & 8. [DAB, v.] A. & B. As pr. par. & particip. adj.: (See the verb.) C. As substantive : 1. Ord. Lang.: The act of striking, pecking, or smearing. 2. Building : Working the face of a stone after it has been broached and draughted with a pick shaped tool, or the patent axe, so as to form a series of minute holes. ( Gwilt.) 3. Stereotyping : In the paper proce , the insinuation of the damp paper into the interstices of the letters by dabbing the back of the paper with a hair brush. The term has also been applied to the cliché proce , in which the form is dabbed down into a shallow cistern of type-metal which is just setting. dabbing-machine, s. Type- founding : The machine employed in casting large metal type. dab-ble, v. t. & i. [A freq. form of dab (q. v.). Cognate with Dut. dabbelen.] A. Trans.: To smear or daub over, to bespatter, to besprinkle. "I scarified and dabbled the wound with oil of turpentine."-Wiseman: Surgery. B. Intransitive: 1. Lit .: To play or splash about in water or mud. "We twa ha' dabbl't i' the burn."- Auld Lang Syne. "Where the duck dabbles 'mid the rustling sedge." Words worth: Evening Walk. 2. Fig .: To do or practice anything in a superficial or amateur-like manner; to take up any pursuit or subject superficially or slightly; to dip into anything without following it up thoroughly; to trifle. written by the painter himself, who, we have seen, dabbled in poetry too."- Walpole : Anecdotes of Painting , vol. i., ch. vii. dăb-blěr, s . [Eng. dabbl (e); -er.] 1. Lit .: One who dabbles or plays about in water or mud; a meddler. dacrydium II. Ornith.: A familiar name applied to the Little Grebe, Podiceps minor, a well-known bird, which frequents rivers, but more especially fresh-water lakes. [GREBE.]