dibble
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdɪb(ə)l/
rhymes: -ɪbəl
Forms: form: dibbles
form: dibbling
form: dibbled
form: dibbled
Etymology: Possibly dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness); however, the word dibble is attested earlier than dib.
Senses: examples: text: And as in winter, when the frost breaks up, / At winter's end, before the spring begins, / And a warm west wind blows, and thaw sets in— / After an hour a dripping sound is heard / In all the forests, and the soft-strewn snow / Under the trees is dibbled thick with holes, / And from the boughs the snowloads shuffle down; […]
ref: 1855, Matthew Arnold, “Balder Dead. An Episode. [3. Funeral.]”, in Poems. By Matthew Arnold. Second Series, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 58:
text: It was Digory who had the bright idea of eating four each and planting the ninth; for, as he said, "if the bar off the lamp-post turned into a little light-tree, why shouldn’t this turn into a toffee-tree?" So they dibbled a small hole in the turf and buried the piece of toffee.
ref: 1955, C[live] S[taples] Lewis, chapter 12, in The Magician's Nephew (The Chronicles of Narnia; 1), London: The Bodley Head, →OCLC; republished London: Collins, 1998
synonyms: dib#Verb
glosses: To make holes or plant seeds using, or as if using, a dibble.
examples: text: There is another method of ſowing wheat in rows uſed in ſome counties, which is termed dibbling in the language of agricultors, and consiſts in making perpendicular holes one inch and half or two inches deep, as is commonly done in planting potato-roots; theſe holes are made by a man, who has a proper ſtaff ſhod with iron in each hand, and as he walks backwards is able by looking at the part of the row already made to keep nearly in a ſtraight line, and to make two holes at once at about nine inches diſtant from each other every way.
ref: 1800, Erasmus Darwin, “Section XVI.[2.2.] The Production of Seeds.”, in Phytologia; or the Philosophy of Agriculture and Gardening. With the Theory of Draining Morasses, and with an Improved Construction of the Drill Plough, London: Printed for J. Johnson, St. Paul's Church-yard; by T[homas] Bensley, Bolt Court, Fleet Street, →OCLC, pages 440–441:
text: I would as soon be gored by my ain bull that gangs on Dalmakittenleys, as have ill luck, and sorrow, and mischance, drilled and dibbled into my frail body by the spiteful een of an auld hag.
ref: 1826, Allan Cunningham, “chapter III”, in Paul Jones; A Romance. … In Three Volumes, volume II, Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd; London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green, →OCLC, page 66:
synonyms: dib#Verb
glosses: To use a dibble; to make holes in the soil.
examples: text: And neere to them ye see the lesser dibling Teale
ref: 1622, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion, song 25 p. 106:
text: Natural fly-fishing, which comes under the heads of dibbling, daping and dabbing, is a method with which the largest fish are taken, and requires a deal of nicety and circumspection. The general rule in this way of angling is to fish with a line about half the length of your rod; but if there is wind stirring, with as much as it will carry out; but you need hardly ever fish with more than the first length, as dibbling must be performed as near as possible to the bank that you stand on; therefore a long rod and a short line is the best, which you will command with ease, and be able to shelter yourself from the sight of the fishes, behind bushes, stumps of trees, &c. The line you dib with should be very strong; for when you have struck a good fish, you will have a hard bout with him before you kill him, for want of a greater length of line: […]
ref: 1787, Thomas Best, “Of Natural Fly-fishing, with a Description of Flies Generally Used, and a Choice Collection of Rules and Hints to be Observed in the Art of Angling”, in A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling, Confirmed by Actual Experience; Interspersed with Several New and Recent Discoveries; the Whole Forming a Complete Museum, for the Lovers of that Pleasing and Rational Recreation, 7th edition, London: Printed by T. Plummer, Seething-Lane, Tower-Street for B. Crosby and Co. no. 4 Stationers' Court, Ludgate Hill, published 1807, →OCLC, pages 34–35:
glosses: To dib or dip frequently, as in angling.
Derived terms: dibbler
Related terms: dibber
dibbly
dibbly-dobbler