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Added 10 October 2026

dabble

/ˈdæb.əl/ verb

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about dabble at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Dip a foot or hand briefly into a liquid.
Play in or as if in water, as of small children.
Work with in an amateurish manner.
She dabbles in astronomy

Origin

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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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