Etymology

dabble

dab·ble
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Today it means: To make slightly wet or soiled by spattering or sprinkling a liquid (such as water, mud, or paint) on it; to bedabble. Full definition →

First used late 16th c.Middle Dutch dabbelen
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The story

  1. Middle Dutch · derived fromdabbelen“to pinch; knead; to fumble; to dabble”
  2. English todaydabble

From earlier dable, equivalent to dab + -le (frequentative suffix), possibly from Middle Dutch dabbelen (“to pinch; knead; to fumble; to dabble”); cognate with Icelandic dafla (“to dabble”).

First known use, by meaning

  • from late 16th c. To make slightly wet or soiled by spattering or sprinkling a liquid (such as water, mud, or paint) on it; to bedabble.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.