n. [ L. Of unknown origin. ] A mystical word or collocation of letters written as in the figure. Worn on an amulet it was supposed to ward off fever. At present the word is used chiefly in jest to denote something without meaning; jargon. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. [ Cf. F. accommodable. ] That may be accommodated, fitted, or made to agree. [ R. ] I. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. The quality or condition of being accommodable. [ R. ] Todd. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. [ OF. acordable, F. accordable. ]
a. [ Add, v. + -able. ] Addible. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. That may be afforded. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Capable of being amended;
n. [ L. andabata a kind of Roman gladiator, who fought hoodwinked. ] Doubt; uncertainty. [ Obs. ] Shelford. [ 1913 Webster ]
adj.
a. Capable of being ascended. [ 1913 Webster ]
a.
The charters were not avoidable for the king's nonage. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. t.
a. Capable of being bent. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Obedient; docile. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
a. That can be boarded, as a ship. [ 1913 Webster ]
adj.
a. Capable of being commanded. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. (Formerly accented on the first syllable.) [ L. commendabilis. ] Worthy of being commended or praised; laudable; praiseworthy. [ 1913 Webster ]
Order and decent ceremonies in the church are not only comely but commendable. Bacon.
--
a. That may be compounded. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. [ L. concordabilis. ] Capable of according; agreeing; harmonious. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Capable of being countermanded; revocable. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ Perh. corrupted fr. adept. ] A skillful hand; a dabster; an expert. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
One excels at a plan or the titlepage, another works away at the body of the book, and the third is a dab at an index. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ Perh. so named from its quickness in diving beneath the sand. Cf. Dabchick. ] (Zool.) A name given to several species of flounders, esp. to the European species, Pleuronectes limanda. The American rough dab is Hippoglossoides platessoides. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. i.
A sore should . . . be wiped . . . only by dabbing it over with fine lint. S. Sharp. [ 1913 Webster ]
n.
A scratch of her claw, a dab of her beak. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. (Zool.) A large, spine-tailed lizard (Uromastix spinipes), found in Egypt, Arabia, and Palestine; -- called also
n. That with which one dabs; hence, a pad or other device used by printers, engravers, etc., as for dabbing type or engraved plates with ink. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. t.
v. i.
Where the duck dabbles 'mid the rustling sedge. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]
During the first year at Dumfries, Burns for the first time began to dabble in politics. J. C. Shairp. [ 1913 Webster ]
n.
adv. In a dabbling manner. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ For dabchick. See Dap, Dip, cf. Dipchick. ] (Zool.) A small water bird (Podilymbus podiceps), allied to the grebes, remarkable for its quickness in diving; -- called also
‖n. (Zool.) A large and highly venomous Asiatic viper (Daboia xanthica). [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ Cf. Dab an expert. ] One who is skilled; a master of his business; a proficient; an adept. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
☞ Sometimes improperly used for dabbler; as, “I am but a dabster with gentle art”. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Capable of being decided; determinable. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Capable of being decompounded. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. [ Cf. F. défendable. ] Capable of being defended; defensible. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Capable of being deluded; liable to be imposed on; gullible. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. That may be demanded or claimed. “All sums demandable.” Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. the trait of being dependable or reliable.
a. Worthy of being depended on; trustworthy. “Dependable friendships.” Pope.
a. Liable to depredation. [ Obs. ] “Made less depredable.” Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Deserving, disapprobation or blame. --
a. [ Cf. OF. descordable. ] That may produce discord; disagreeing; discordant. [ R. ] Halliwell.
a. [ From Divide. ]
a. Worthy of being dreaded. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. [ L. emendabilis. Cf. Amendable. ] Corrigible; amendable. [ R. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. That may be ended; terminable. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Capable of exceeding or surpassing. [ Obs. ] Sherwood. [ 1913 Webster ]
adj. able to expand or to be expanded.