different between dabble vs drabble

English

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?dæb(?)l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?dæb?l/
• Rhymes: -æb?l
• Hyphenation: dab?ble

Verb

dabble (third-person singular simple present dabbles, present participle dabbling, simple past and past participle dabbled)

1. (transitive) To make slightly wet or soiled by spattering or sprinkling a liquid (such as water, mud, or paint) on it; to bedabble. [from late 16th c.]
2. (transitive) To cause splashing by moving a body part like a bill or limb in soft mud, water, etc., often playfully; to play in shallow water; to paddle.
3. (intransitive, figuratively) To participate or have an interest in an activity in a casual or superficial way.
4. (intransitive, obsolete) To interfere or meddle in; to tamper with.

Synonyms

• (to make slightly wet or soiled): bespatter, besprinkle, spatter

Derived terms

• bedabble
• dabbler
• dabblesome
• dabbling (noun)
• dabbling duck

Translations

See also

• dribble

Noun

dabble (plural dabbles)

1. A spattering or sprinkling of a liquid.
2. An act of splashing in soft mud, water, etc.
3. An act of participation in an activity in a casual or superficial way.

Translations

References

• John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “dabble, v.”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, volume IV (Creel–Duzepere), 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN, page 207, columns 2–3

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?æb?l/
• Rhymes: -æb?l

Etymology 1

From Middle English drabelan

Verb

drabble (third-person singular simple present drabbles, present participle drabbling, simple past and past participle drabbled)

1. (transitive) To wet or dirty, especially by dragging through mud.
2. (intransitive) To fish with a long line and rod.

   to drabble for barbels

Etymology 2

From a word game in Monty Python's Big Red Book in which the first player to write a novel wins; the UK Science Fiction fandom agreed that 100 words will suffice; not, as is sometimes stated, from the surname of the author Margaret Drabble.

Noun

drabble (plural drabbles)

1. A short fictional story, typically in fan fiction, sometimes exactly 100 words long.

Usage notes

The "100 words" limit is the original meaning, although in practice (and drabble purists have denounced this extension), it frequently extends up to around 500 words, with a variety of limits used.

Synonyms

• flash fiction, flashfic, microfiction, short short story, spamfic, sudden fiction

Further reading

• An example of a German language drabble

See also

• “drabble” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “drabble”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, (Please provide a date or year).

Anagrams

• barbled, dabbler, rabbled