Dab"ble (dăb"b'l), v. t.
[imp. & p. p. Dabbled (-b'ld); p.
pr. & vb. n. Dabbling (-b'l&ibreve;ng).] [Freq. of
dab: cf. OD. dabbelen.] To wet by little dips or
strokes; to spatter; to sprinkle; to moisten; to wet. "Bright
hair dabbled in blood." Shak.
Dab"ble, v. i. 1.
To play in water, as with the hands; to paddle or splash in mud
or water.
Where the duck dabbles 'mid the rustling
sedge.
Wordsworth.
2. To work in slight or superficial manner;
to do in a small way; to tamper; to meddle. "Dabbling
here and there with the text." Atterbury.
During the first year at Dumfries, Burns for the first
time began to dabble in politics.
J. C.
Shairp.
