Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Dab
Dab
(dăb)
, Noun.
[Perh. corrupted fr.
adept
.] A skillful hand; a dabster; an expert.
[Colloq.]
One excels at a plan or the titlepage, another works away at the body of the book, and the third is a
dab
at an index. Goldsmith.
Dab
,Noun.
[Perh. so named from its quickness in diving beneath the sand. Cf.
Dabchick
.] (Zool.)
A name given to several species of flounders, esp. to the European species,
Pleuronectes limanda
. The American rough dab is Hippoglossoides platessoides
. Dab
(dăb)
, Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Dabbed
(dăbd)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Dabbing
.] [OE.
dabben
to strice; akin to OD. dabben
to pinch, knead, fumble, dabble, and perh. to G. tappen
to grope.] 1.
To strike or touch gently, as with a soft or moist substance; to tap; hence, to besmear with a dabber.
A sore should . . . be wiped . . . only by
dabbing
it over with fine lint. S. Sharp.
2.
To strike by a thrust; to hit with a sudden blow or thrust.
“To dab him in the neck.” Sir T. More.
Dab
,Noun.
1.
A gentle blow with the hand or some soft substance; a sudden blow or hit; a peck.
A scratch of her claw, a
dab
of her beak. Hawthorne.
2.
A small mass of anything soft or moist.
Webster 1828 Edition
Dab
DAB
, v.t.1.
To strike gently with the hand; to slap; to box.2.
To strike gently with some soft or moist substance; as, to dab a sore with lint.DAB
, n.1.
A gentle blow with the hand.2.
A small lump or mass of any thing soft or moist.3.
Something moist or slimy thrown on one.4.
In law language, an expert man.[See Dabster.]5.
A small flat fish, of the genus Pleuronectes, of a dark brown color.