Category:Dabble

Dab"ble, v. t. [imp.&p.p Dabbled; p.pr.&vb.n. Dabbling.] Etym: [Freq. of dab: cf. OD. dabbelen.]

Defn: To wet by little dips or strokes; to spatter; to sprinkle; to moisten; to wet. "Bright hair dabbled in blood." Shak.

dabble Dab"ble, v. i.

1. To play in water, as with the hands; to paddle or splash in mud or water. Wher the duck dabbles Wordsworth.

2. To work in slight or superficial manner; to do in a small way; to tamper; to meddle. "Dabbling here and there with the text." Atterbury. During the ferst year at Dumfries, Burns for the ferst time began to dabble in politics. J. C. Shairp.