Etymology

daub

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Today it means: Excrement or clay used as a bonding material in construction. Full definition →

Middle English daub ← Old Northern French dauber ← Latin dealbāre
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daub · noun, verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromdealbāre“to whiten thoroughly”
  2. Old Northern French · derived fromdauber“to whitewash; plaster”
  3. Middle English · derived fromdauben“to plaster or whitewash; cover with clay; bespatter”
  4. Middle English · inherited fromdaub
  5. English todaydaub

From Middle English daub (noun), from Middle English dauben (“to plaster or whitewash; cover with clay; bespatter”, verb), from Old Northern French dauber (“to whitewash; plaster”), of uncertain origin. Probably from Latin dealbāre (“to whiten thoroughly”), which would make it a doublet of dealbate.

Daub · proper noun2

* As a German and Jewish surname, variant of Taube, occupational surname from the noun meaning "pigeon, dove." * As a south German surname, from the adjective taub (“deaf”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.