v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Abbreviated; p. pr. & vb. n. Abbreviating. ] [ L. abbreviatus, p. p. of abbreviare; ad + breviare to shorten, fr. brevis short. See Abridge. ] 1. To make briefer; to shorten; to abridge; to reduce by contraction or omission, especially of words written or spoken. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Math.) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. abbreviatus, p. p. ] 1. Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. [ R. ] “The abbreviate form.” Earle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Biol.) Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An abridgment. [ Obs. ] Elyot. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Shortened; relatively short; abbreviate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. abbreviatio: cf. F. abbréviation. ] 1. The act of shortening, or reducing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The result of abbreviating; an abridgment. Tylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The form to which a word or phrase is reduced by contraction and omission; a letter or letters, standing for a word or phrase of which they are a part; as, Gen. for Genesis; U.S.A. for United States of America. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mus.) One dash, or more, through the stem of a note, dividing it respectively into quavers, semiquavers, or demi-semiquavers. Moore. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL.: cf. F. abbréviateur. ] 1. One who abbreviates or shortens. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One of a college of seventy-two officers of the papal court whose duty is to make a short minute of a decision on a petition, or reply of the pope to a letter, and afterwards expand the minute into official form. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Serving or tending to abbreviate; shortening; abridging. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. An abbreviation; an abbreviated state or form. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An abridgment; a compendium or abstract. [ 1913 Webster ]

This is an excellent abbreviature of the whole duty of a Christian. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Babbled p. pr. & vb. n. Babbling. ] [ Cf. LG. babbeln, D. babbelen, G. bappeln, bappern, F. babiller, It. babbolare; prob. orig., to keep saying ba, imitative of a child learning to talk. ] 1. To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds; as a child babbles. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To talk incoherently; to utter unmeaning words. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To talk much; to chatter; to prate. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To make a continuous murmuring noise, as shallow water running over stones. [ 1913 Webster ]

In every babbling brook he finds a friend. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Hounds are said to babble, or to be babbling, when they are too noisy after having found a good scent. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To prate; prattle; chatter; gossip. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To utter in an indistinct or incoherent way; to repeat, as words, in a childish way without understanding. [ 1913 Webster ]

These [ words ] he used to babble in all companies. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To disclose by too free talk, as a secret. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Idle talk; senseless prattle; gabble; twaddle. “This is mere moral babble.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur. [ 1913 Webster ]

The babble of our young children. Darwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

The babble of the stream. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Babble. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. An idle talker; an irrational prater; a teller of secrets. [ 1913 Webster ]

Great babblers, or talkers, are not fit for trust. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A hound too noisy on finding a good scent. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) A name given to any one of a family (Timalinæ) of thrushlike birds, having a chattering note. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Babble. [ Obs. ] Sir T. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bedabbled p. pr. & vb. n. Bedabbling ] To dabble; to sprinkle or wet. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To befoul with rain and mud; to drabble. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ A reduplication of babble. ] Idle talk; babble. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ D. brabbelen to talk confusedly. √95. Cf. Blab, Babble. ] To clamor; to contest noisily. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A broil; a noisy contest; a wrangle. [ 1913 Webster ]

This petty brabble will undo us all. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A brabble. [ R. ] Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A clamorous, quarrelsome, noisy fellow; a wrangler. [ R ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who works at cabbling. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dabbled p. pr. & vb. n. Dabbling ] [ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To play in water, as with the hands; to paddle or splash in mud or water. [ 1913 Webster ]

Where the duck dabbles 'mid the rustling sedge. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

During the first year at Dumfries, Burns for the first time began to dabble in politics. J. C. Shairp. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who dabbles. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who dips slightly into anything; a superficial meddler. “our dabblers in politics.” Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Drabbled p. pr. & vb. n. Drabbling ] [ &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;.See Drab, Draff. ] To draggle; to wet and befoul by draggling; as, to drabble a gown or cloak. Halliwell. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To fish with a long line and rod; as, to drabble for barbels. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Naut.) A piece of canvas fastened by lacing to the bonnet of a sail, to give it a greater depth, or more drop. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A draggle-tail; a slattern. Halliwell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. using the technical language of ecology to make the user seem ecologically aware. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Gabbled p. pr. & vb. n. Gabbling ] [ Freq. of gab. See Gab, v. i. ] 1. To talk fast, or to talk without meaning; to prate; to jabber. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To utter inarticulate sounds with rapidity; -- used of fowls as well as people; as, gabbling geese. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. 1. Loud or rapid talk without meaning. [ 1913 Webster ]

Forthwith a hideous gabble rises loud
Among the builders. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Inarticulate sounds rapidly uttered; as of fowls. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who gabbles; a prater. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Grabbled p. pr. & vb. n. Grabbling ] [ Freq. of grab; cf. D. grabbelen. ] 1. To grope; to feel with the hands. [ 1913 Webster ]

He puts his hands into his pockets, and keeps a grabbling and fumbling. Selden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To lie prostrate on the belly; to sprawl on the ground; to grovel. Ainsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ Freq. of knab. ] To bite or nibble. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Horses will knabble at walls, and rats gnaw iron. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To wrap up. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To utter foolishly or excessively; to surpass in babbling. [ R. ] Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Etymol. uncertain. ] (Iron Manuf.) An iron bar, with the end bent, used in stirring or skimming molten iron in the process of puddling. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To stir or skim with a rabble, as molten iron. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ Akin to D. rabbelen, Prov. G. rabbeln, to prattle, to chatter: cf. L. rabula a brawling advocate, a pettifogger, fr. rabere to rave. Cf. Rage. ] To speak in a confused manner. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Probably named from the noise made by it (see Rabble, v. i.) cf. D. rapalje rabble, OF. & Prov. F. rapaille. ] 1. A tumultuous crowd of vulgar, noisy people; a mob; a confused, disorderly throng. [ 1913 Webster ]

I saw, I say, come out of London, even unto the presence of the prince, a great rabble of mean and light persons. Ascham. [ 1913 Webster ]

Jupiter, Mercury, Bacchus, Venus, Mars, and the whole rabble of licentious deities. Bp. Warburton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A confused, incoherent discourse; a medley of voices; a chatter. [ 1913 Webster ]

The rabble, the lowest class of people, without reference to an assembly; the dregs of the people. “The rabble call him ‘lord.'” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to a rabble; like, or suited to, a rabble; disorderly; vulgar. [ R. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Rabbled p. pr. & vb. n. Rabbling ] 1. To insult, or assault, by a mob; to mob; as, to rabble a curate. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

The bishops' carriages were stopped and the prelates themselves rabbled on their way to the house. J. R. Green. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To utter glibly and incoherently; to mouth without intelligence. [ Obs. or Scot. ] Foxe. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To rumple; to crumple. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A tumultuous crowd of low people; a rabble. “Rude rablement.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

And still, as he refused it, the rabblement hooted. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See 2d Rabble. ] (Mech.) A scraping tool for smoothing metal. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A tumultuous crowd; a rabble; a noisy throng. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. See Scapple. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of scrabbling; a moving upon the hands and knees; a scramble; also, a scribble. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Scrabbled p. pr. & vb. n. Scrabbling ] [ Freq. of scrape. Cf. Scramble, Scrawl, v. t. ] 1. To scrape, paw, or scratch with the hands; to proceed by clawing with the hands and feet; to scramble; as, to scrabble up a cliff or a tree. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now after a while Little-faith came to himself, and getting up made shift to scrabble on his way. Bunyan. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make irregular, crooked, or unmeaning marks; to scribble; to scrawl. [ 1913 Webster ]

David . . . scrabbled on the doors of the gate. 1. Sam. xxi. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To mark with irregular lines or letters; to scribble; as, to scrabble paper. [ 1913 Webster ]