daub

[ dawb ]

/ dɔb /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR daub ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to cover or coat with soft, adhesive matter, as plaster or mud: to daub a canvas with paint; to daub stone walls with mud.

to spread (plaster, mud, etc.) on or over something: to daub plaster on a brick wall.

to smear, soil, or defile.

to apply, as paint or colors, unskillfully.

verb (used without object)

to daub something.

to paint unskillfully.

noun

material, especially of an inferior kind, for daubing walls.

something daubed on.

an act of daubing.

a crude, inartistic painting.

Nearby words

datum plane, datura, datv, dau, dau., dauber, daube, daubery, daubigny, daubry, daud

Origin of daub

1275–1325; (v.) Middle English dauben < Anglo-French, Old French dauber to whiten, paint < Latin dealbāre, equivalent to de-, prevocalic variant of dē- de- + albāre to whiten, derivative of albus white; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the v.

Related formsdaub·er, noundaub·ing·ly, adverbdaub·y, adjectiveun·daubed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dauber

Not even the death of the Dauber in a wretched accident defeats our sense of divine and ultimate victory.
Old and New Masters|Robert Lynd
I saw that I could attain my purpose better with a dauber of stiffer material.
The Invention of Lithography|Alois Senefelder
When Cyrus Glover was informed that his daughter intended to marry a dauber in paints, he started for Paris on ten hours' notice.
Murder in Any Degree|Owen Johnson
There are few gloomier poems in literature than Dauber in spite of the philosophy and calm of its close.
The Book of This and That|Robert Lynd

Is it possible that after my training of you, you can be in love with this showy fellow, a dauber of no name or talent?
Artist and Model|Ren de Pont-Jest

British Dictionary definitions for dauber

daub

/ (dɔːb) /

verb

(tr) to smear or spread (paint, mud, etc), esp carelessly

(tr) to cover or coat (with paint, plaster, etc) carelessly

to paint (a picture) clumsily or badly

noun

an unskilful or crude painting

something daubed on, esp as a wall coveringSee also wattle and daub

a smear (of paint, mud, etc)

the act of daubing

Derived Formsdauber, noundauby, adjective

Word Origin for daub

C14: from Old French dauber to paint, whitewash, from Latin dealbāre, from albāre to whiten, from albus white

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dauber

daub

late 14c. (Dauber as a surname is recorded from mid-13c.), from Old French dauber "to whitewash, plaster" (13c.), perhaps from Latin dealbare, from de- "thoroughly" + albare "to whiten," from albus "white" (see alb). Painting sense is from 1620s. Related: Daubed; daubing. As a noun, from mid-15c.

daub

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of daub

Examples from the Web for dauber

British Dictionary definitions for dauber

daub

verb

noun

Word Origin for daub

Word Origin and History for dauber

daub