Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Squab
Squab
(skwŏb)
, Adj.
[Cf. dial. Sw.
sqvabb
a soft and fat body, sqvabba
a fat woman, Icel. kvap
jelly, jellylike things, and E. quab
.] 1.
Fat; thick; plump; bulky.
Nor the
squab
daughter nor the wife were nice. Betterton.
2.
Unfledged; unfeathered;
as, a
. squab
pigeonKing.
Squab
,Noun.
1.
(Zool.)
A nestling of a pigeon or other similar bird, esp. when very fat and not fully fledged.
2.
A person of a short, fat figure.
Gorgonious sits abdominous and wan,
Like a fat
Like a fat
squab
upon a Chinese fan. Cowper.
3.
A thickly stuffed cushion; especially, one used for the seat of a sofa, couch, or chair; also, a sofa.
Punching the
squab
of chairs and sofas. Dickens.
On her large
squab
you find her spread. Pope.
Squab
,adv.
[Cf. dial. Sw.
sqvapp
, a word imitative of a splash, and E. squab
fat, unfledged.] With a heavy fall; plump.
[Vulgar]
The eagle took the tortoise up into the air, and dropped him down,
squab
, upon a rock. L’Estrange.
Squab
,Verb.
I.
To fall plump; to strike at one dash, or with a heavy stroke.
[Obs.]
Webster 1828 Edition
Squab
SQUAB
,Adj.
1.
Fat; thick; plump; bulky.Nor the squab daughter, nor the wife were nice.
2.
Unfledged; unfethered; as a squab pigeon.SQUAB
,Noun.
1.
A young pigeon or dove. [This word is in common or general use in America, and almost the only sense in which it is used is the one here given. It is sometimes used in the sense of fat, plump.]2.
A kind of sofa or couch; a stuffed cushion. [Not used in America.]SQUAB
,adv.
The eagle dropped the tortoise squab upon a rock. [Low and not used.]
[The vulgar word awhap or whop, is used in a like sense in America. It is found in Chaucer.]
Definition 2024
squab
squab
English
A nesting dove with squabs
Squab (young pigeon) leg and breast
Noun
squab (plural squabs)
- A baby pigeon or dove.
- The meat of a squab (i.e. a young (domestic) pigeon or dove) used as food.
- A baby rook.
- A thick cushion, especially a flat one covering the seat of a chair or sofa.
- a. 1744, Alexander Pope (imitating Earl of Dorset), Artemisia, 1795, Robert Anderson (editor), A Complete Edition of the Poets of Great Britain, page 86,
- On her large ſquab you find her ſpread, / Like a fat corpſe upon a bed, / That lies and ſtinks in ſtate.
- (Can we date this quote?) Charles Dickens
- Punching the squab of chairs and sofas.
- a. 1744, Alexander Pope (imitating Earl of Dorset), Artemisia, 1795, Robert Anderson (editor), A Complete Edition of the Poets of Great Britain, page 86,
- A person of a short, fat figure.
- a. 1800, William Cowper, The Progress of Error, 1824, Poems of William Cowper, Esq, page 28,
- Gorgonius sits abdominous and wan, / Like a fat squab upon a Chinese fan:
- a. 1800, William Cowper, The Progress of Error, 1824, Poems of William Cowper, Esq, page 28,
Synonyms
- (baby pigeon): piper, squeaker, pigeon chick, young pigeon, baby dove
- (baby rook): rook chick, young rook
Translations
baby pigeon
meat of a young pigeon or dove
|
baby rook
|
|
thick cushion
Verb
squab (third-person singular simple present squabs, present participle squabbing, simple past and past participle squabbed)
- (obsolete) To fall plump; to strike at one dash, or with a heavy stroke.
- (transitive) To furnish with squabs, or cushions.
Adjective
squab (comparative more squab, superlative most squab)
- Fat; thick; plump; bulky.
- (Can we date this quote?) Betterton
- Nor the squab daughter nor the wife were nice.
- (Can we date this quote?) Betterton
- Unfledged; unfeathered.
- a squab pigeon
- (Can we find and add a quotation of King to this entry?)
Adverb
squab (not comparable)
- (slang) With a heavy fall; plump.
- (Can we date this quote?) L'Estrange
- The eagle took the tortoise up into the air, and dropped him down, squab, upon a rock.
- (Can we date this quote?) L'Estrange