"dibble" meaning in All languages combined

See dibble on Wiktionary

Noun [English]

IPA: /ˈdɪb(ə)l/ [General-American, Received-Pronunciation] Audio: En-au-dibble.ogg [Australia] Forms: dibbles [plural]
Rhymes: -ɪbəl Etymology: Possibly dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (“frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness”); however, the word dibble is attested earlier than dib. Etymology templates: {{suffix|en|dib|le|gloss1=to dab lightly|gloss2=frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness}} dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (“frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness”) Head templates: {{en-noun}} dibble (plural dibbles)
  1. A pointed implement used to make holes in the ground in which to set out plants or to plant seeds. Categories (topical): Horticulture, Tools Synonyms: dib, dibber Translations (pointed implement): plantador [masculine] (Catalan), sázecí kolík [masculine] (Czech), plantepind [common-gender] (Danish), plantestok [common-gender] (Danish), pootijzer [masculine] (Dutch), pootstok [masculine] (Dutch), istutuspuikko (Finnish), plantoir [masculine] (French), plantador [masculine] (Galician), Pflanzholz [neuter] (German), Setzholz [neuter] (German), stibhín [masculine] (Irish), piantatoio [masculine] (Italian), kanyakka (Laboya), pastinum [neuter] (Latin), колче (kolče) [neuter] (Macedonian), kōkotaia (Maori), plantepinne (Norwegian Bokmål), sadzak [masculine] (Polish), tyllwr [masculine] (Welsh)
    Sense id: en-dibble-en-noun-Pk4gNZ1~ Disambiguation of Horticulture: 43 36 8 5 3 6 Disambiguation of Tools: 37 14 13 13 15 9 Categories (other): English terms suffixed with -le Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -le: 49 18 16 17
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Noun [English]

IPA: /ˈdɪb(ə)l/ [General-American, Received-Pronunciation] Audio: En-au-dibble.ogg [Australia] Forms: dibbles [plural]
Rhymes: -ɪbəl Etymology: From the character of Officer Charlie Dibble, a New York Police Department officer, in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series Top Cat (first broadcast in the US in 1961, and in the UK in 1962 under the title Boss Cat). Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} dibble (countable and uncountable, plural dibbles)
  1. (slang, British, originally Manchester, countable) A police officer, especially one serving with Greater Manchester Police. Tags: British, countable, slang Categories (topical): Fishing, Horticulture, Law enforcement, People Synonyms (a police officer): police officer
    Sense id: en-dibble-en-noun-VO-5AWAq Disambiguation of Fishing: 19 46 13 8 5 10 Disambiguation of Horticulture: 43 36 8 5 3 6 Disambiguation of Law enforcement: 16 50 17 4 3 9 Disambiguation of People: 1 96 3 0 0 0 Categories (other): British English, Mancunian English, English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with topic categories using raw markup Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 29 46 16 2 1 5 Disambiguation of English entries with topic categories using raw markup: 27 37 15 10 6 5 Disambiguation of 'a police officer': 95 5
  2. (slang, British, originally Manchester, uncountable) Preceded by the: the police. Tags: British, slang, uncountable
    Sense id: en-dibble-en-noun-1iFsHKS0 Categories (other): British English, Mancunian English
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms (the police): police Related terms: ibble dibble
Etymology number: 2 Disambiguation of 'the police': 50 50

Verb [English]

IPA: /ˈdɪb(ə)l/ [General-American, Received-Pronunciation] Audio: En-au-dibble.ogg [Australia] Forms: dibbles [present, singular, third-person], dibbling [participle, present], dibbled [participle, past], dibbled [past]
Rhymes: -ɪbəl Etymology: Possibly dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (“frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness”); however, the word dibble is attested earlier than dib. Etymology templates: {{suffix|en|dib|le|gloss1=to dab lightly|gloss2=frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness}} dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (“frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness”) Head templates: {{en-verb}} dibble (third-person singular simple present dibbles, present participle dibbling, simple past and past participle dibbled)
  1. (transitive) To make holes or plant seeds using, or as if using, a dibble. Tags: transitive
    Sense id: en-dibble-en-verb-AHrj6nnz
  2. (intransitive) To use a dibble; to make holes in the soil. Tags: intransitive
    Sense id: en-dibble-en-verb-GANtSlSR
  3. (intransitive) To dib or dip frequently, as in angling. Tags: intransitive
    Sense id: en-dibble-en-verb-odD-l4fw
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: dibber, dibbly, dibbly-dobbler
Etymology number: 1

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for dibble meaning in All languages combined (17.0kB)

{
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dib",
        "3": "le",
        "gloss1": "to dab lightly",
        "gloss2": "frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness"
      },
      "expansion": "dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (“frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness”)",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Possibly dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (“frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness”); however, the word dibble is attested earlier than dib.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dibbles",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "dibble (plural dibbles)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "dib‧ble"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "49 18 16 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -le",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "43 36 8 5 3 6",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Horticulture",
          "orig": "en:Horticulture",
          "parents": [
            "Agriculture",
            "Botany",
            "Applied sciences",
            "Biology",
            "Sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "37 14 13 13 15 9",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Tools",
          "orig": "en:Tools",
          "parents": [
            "Technology",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "c. 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies, London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, act IV, scene iv, page 292, column 1",
          "text": "Pol[ixenes] Then make you[r] Garden rich in Gilly'vors, / And do not call them baſtards. / Per[dita] Ile not put / The Dible in earth, to ſet one ſlip of them: […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1794, Robert Burns, Allan Cunningham, “LX. On a Suicide.”, in The Works of Robert Burns; with His Life, by Allan Cunningham. … In Eight Volumes, volume III, London: James Cochrane and Co. 11, Waterloo Place, published 1834, →OCLC, page 325",
          "text": "Earth'd up, here lies an imp o' hell, / Planted by Satan's dibble— / Poor silly wretch, he's damned himsel', / To save the Lord the trouble.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1818, John Keats, Endymion: A Poetic Romance, London: Printed for Taylor and Hessey, 93, Fleet Street, →OCLC, book III, page 112, lines 153–154",
          "text": "In sowing time ne'er would I dibble take, / Or drop a seed, till thou wast wide awake; […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A pointed implement used to make holes in the ground in which to set out plants or to plant seeds."
      ],
      "id": "en-dibble-en-noun-Pk4gNZ1~",
      "links": [
        [
          "pointed",
          "pointed"
        ],
        [
          "implement",
          "implement"
        ],
        [
          "hole",
          "hole"
        ],
        [
          "plants",
          "plant#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "seeds",
          "seed#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "dib"
        },
        {
          "word": "dibber"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "plantador"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "sázecí kolík"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "plantepind"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "plantestok"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "pootijzer"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "pootstok"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "word": "istutuspuikko"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "plantoir"
        },
        {
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "plantador"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Pflanzholz"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "Setzholz"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "stibhín"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "piantatoio"
        },
        {
          "code": "lmy",
          "lang": "Laboya",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "word": "kanyakka"
        },
        {
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "pastinum"
        },
        {
          "code": "mk",
          "lang": "Macedonian",
          "roman": "kolče",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "колче"
        },
        {
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "word": "kōkotaia"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "word": "plantepinne"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "sadzak"
        },
        {
          "code": "cy",
          "lang": "Welsh",
          "sense": "pointed implement",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "tyllwr"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdɪb(ə)l/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪbəl"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-dibble.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-au-dibble.ogg/En-au-dibble.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-au-dibble.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "dibble"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dib",
        "3": "le",
        "gloss1": "to dab lightly",
        "gloss2": "frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness"
      },
      "expansion": "dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (“frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness”)",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Possibly dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (“frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness”); however, the word dibble is attested earlier than dib.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dibbles",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dibbling",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dibbled",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dibbled",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "dibble (third-person singular simple present dibbles, present participle dibbling, simple past and past participle dibbled)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "dib‧ble"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "dibber"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "dibbly"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "dibbly-dobbler"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "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": "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; […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "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",
          "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."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make holes or plant seeds using, or as if using, a dibble."
      ],
      "id": "en-dibble-en-verb-AHrj6nnz",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To make holes or plant seeds using, or as if using, a dibble."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "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": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "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",
          "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To use a dibble; to make holes in the soil."
      ],
      "id": "en-dibble-en-verb-GANtSlSR",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To use a dibble; to make holes in the soil."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1622, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion, song 25 p. 106",
          "text": "And neere to them ye see the lesser dibling Teale",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "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",
          "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: […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To dib or dip frequently, as in angling."
      ],
      "id": "en-dibble-en-verb-odD-l4fw",
      "links": [
        [
          "dib",
          "dib#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "dip",
          "dip#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "angling",
          "angling"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To dib or dip frequently, as in angling."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdɪb(ə)l/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪbəl"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-dibble.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-au-dibble.ogg/En-au-dibble.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-au-dibble.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "dibble"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_text": "From the character of Officer Charlie Dibble, a New York Police Department officer, in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series Top Cat (first broadcast in the US in 1961, and in the UK in 1962 under the title Boss Cat).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dibbles",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "dibble (countable and uncountable, plural dibbles)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "dib‧ble"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "ibble dibble"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mancunian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "29 46 16 2 1 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "27 37 15 10 6 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 46 13 8 5 10",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Fishing",
          "orig": "en:Fishing",
          "parents": [
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "43 36 8 5 3 6",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Horticulture",
          "orig": "en:Horticulture",
          "parents": [
            "Agriculture",
            "Botany",
            "Applied sciences",
            "Biology",
            "Sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 50 17 4 3 9",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Law enforcement",
          "orig": "en:Law enforcement",
          "parents": [
            "Crime prevention",
            "Emergency services",
            "Law",
            "Crime",
            "Public safety",
            "Justice",
            "Criminal law",
            "Society",
            "Public administration",
            "Security",
            "All topics",
            "Government",
            "Fundamental",
            "Politics"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "1 96 3 0 0 0",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "People",
          "orig": "en:People",
          "parents": [
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2016 May 12, “maxc73”, “Robbie Williams ‘confesses’ to digging holes in school’s playing field”, in The Herald, Plymouth, Devon, archived from the original on 2017-03-16",
          "text": "Remember this story about police hunting a metal detector enthusiast suspected of digging 20 holes in a school playing field in Cornwall? It’s taken a rather unusual twist. Pop superstar Robbie Williams appears to have ’fessed up to the crime. The former Take That star, who is a keen metal detecting enthusiast, retweeted the West Briton newspaper’s version of the story, telling ‘Dibble’ – a Mancunian slang term for the police which comes from the character Officer Dibble in the cartoon Top Cat – to ‘do one’, vowing the police will never catch him alive.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A police officer, especially one serving with Greater Manchester Police."
      ],
      "id": "en-dibble-en-noun-VO-5AWAq",
      "links": [
        [
          "police officer",
          "police officer"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, British, originally Manchester, countable) A police officer, especially one serving with Greater Manchester Police."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "95 5",
          "sense": "a police officer",
          "word": "police officer"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "countable",
        "slang"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mancunian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Watch out, lads! Here comes the dibble!",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002, Colin Ward, 'Chubby' Chris Henderson, “Revelling in It”, in Who Wants It?, Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing",
          "text": "In Moss Side they called the police Dibble, after Officer Dibble in the cartoon Top Cat, so the name had sprung from that.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Theodore Dalrymple [pseudonym; Anthony Malcolm Daniels], “How Not to Do It”, in Not with a Bang but a Whimper: The Politics and Culture of Decline, Chicago, Ill.: Ivan R. Dee, pages 125–126",
          "text": "Bein' in the dibble [police] is no cakewalk when you're black. / If you don't get fitted, then you'll prob'ly get the sack.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, Colin Blaney, Hotshot: The Story of a Little Red Devil",
          "text": "They shoved me in the back of a police van and started driving to the cop shop. I was sitting in the sweatbox, wondering how the Dibble had got onto me so quickly, when I heard a voice from another section of the van say, 'Are you P from Macclesfield?'",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Preceded by the: the police."
      ],
      "id": "en-dibble-en-noun-1iFsHKS0",
      "links": [
        [
          "the",
          "the#English"
        ],
        [
          "police",
          "police"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, British, originally Manchester, uncountable) Preceded by the: the police."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdɪb(ə)l/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪbəl"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-dibble.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-au-dibble.ogg/En-au-dibble.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-au-dibble.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "sense": "the police",
      "word": "police"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Hanna-Barbera",
    "New York Police Department",
    "Top Cat"
  ],
  "word": "dibble"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English 2-syllable words",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms suffixed with -le",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Rhymes:English/ɪbəl",
    "Rhymes:English/ɪbəl/2 syllables",
    "en:Fishing",
    "en:Horticulture",
    "en:Law enforcement",
    "en:People",
    "en:Tools"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dib",
        "3": "le",
        "gloss1": "to dab lightly",
        "gloss2": "frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness"
      },
      "expansion": "dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (“frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness”)",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Possibly dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (“frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness”); however, the word dibble is attested earlier than dib.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dibbles",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "dibble (plural dibbles)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "dib‧ble"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "c. 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies, London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, act IV, scene iv, page 292, column 1",
          "text": "Pol[ixenes] Then make you[r] Garden rich in Gilly'vors, / And do not call them baſtards. / Per[dita] Ile not put / The Dible in earth, to ſet one ſlip of them: […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1794, Robert Burns, Allan Cunningham, “LX. On a Suicide.”, in The Works of Robert Burns; with His Life, by Allan Cunningham. … In Eight Volumes, volume III, London: James Cochrane and Co. 11, Waterloo Place, published 1834, →OCLC, page 325",
          "text": "Earth'd up, here lies an imp o' hell, / Planted by Satan's dibble— / Poor silly wretch, he's damned himsel', / To save the Lord the trouble.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1818, John Keats, Endymion: A Poetic Romance, London: Printed for Taylor and Hessey, 93, Fleet Street, →OCLC, book III, page 112, lines 153–154",
          "text": "In sowing time ne'er would I dibble take, / Or drop a seed, till thou wast wide awake; […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A pointed implement used to make holes in the ground in which to set out plants or to plant seeds."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "pointed",
          "pointed"
        ],
        [
          "implement",
          "implement"
        ],
        [
          "hole",
          "hole"
        ],
        [
          "plants",
          "plant#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "seeds",
          "seed#Noun"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdɪb(ə)l/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪbəl"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-dibble.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-au-dibble.ogg/En-au-dibble.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-au-dibble.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "dib"
    },
    {
      "word": "dibber"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "plantador"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "sázecí kolík"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "plantepind"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "plantestok"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "pootijzer"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "pootstok"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "word": "istutuspuikko"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "plantoir"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "plantador"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Pflanzholz"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "Setzholz"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "stibhín"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "piantatoio"
    },
    {
      "code": "lmy",
      "lang": "Laboya",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "word": "kanyakka"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "pastinum"
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "roman": "kolče",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "колче"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "word": "kōkotaia"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "word": "plantepinne"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "sadzak"
    },
    {
      "code": "cy",
      "lang": "Welsh",
      "sense": "pointed implement",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "tyllwr"
    }
  ],
  "word": "dibble"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English 2-syllable words",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms suffixed with -le",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Rhymes:English/ɪbəl",
    "Rhymes:English/ɪbəl/2 syllables",
    "en:Fishing",
    "en:Horticulture",
    "en:Law enforcement",
    "en:People",
    "en:Tools"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dib",
        "3": "le",
        "gloss1": "to dab lightly",
        "gloss2": "frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness"
      },
      "expansion": "dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (“frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness”)",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Possibly dib (“to dab lightly”) + -le (“frequentative suffix indicating repetition or continuousness”); however, the word dibble is attested earlier than dib.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dibbles",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dibbling",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dibbled",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "dibbled",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "dibble (third-person singular simple present dibbles, present participle dibbling, simple past and past participle dibbled)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "dib‧ble"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "dibber"
    },
    {
      "word": "dibbly"
    },
    {
      "word": "dibbly-dobbler"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "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": "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; […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "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",
          "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."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make holes or plant seeds using, or as if using, a dibble."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To make holes or plant seeds using, or as if using, a dibble."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "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": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "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",
          "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To use a dibble; to make holes in the soil."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To use a dibble; to make holes in the soil."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1622, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion, song 25 p. 106",
          "text": "And neere to them ye see the lesser dibling Teale",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "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",
          "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: […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To dib or dip frequently, as in angling."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "dib",
          "dib#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "dip",
          "dip#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "angling",
          "angling"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To dib or dip frequently, as in angling."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdɪb(ə)l/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪbəl"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-dibble.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-au-dibble.ogg/En-au-dibble.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-au-dibble.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "dibble"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English 2-syllable words",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Rhymes:English/ɪbəl",
    "Rhymes:English/ɪbəl/2 syllables",
    "en:Fishing",
    "en:Horticulture",
    "en:Law enforcement",
    "en:People",
    "en:Tools"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_text": "From the character of Officer Charlie Dibble, a New York Police Department officer, in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series Top Cat (first broadcast in the US in 1961, and in the UK in 1962 under the title Boss Cat).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dibbles",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "dibble (countable and uncountable, plural dibbles)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "dib‧ble"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "ibble dibble"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English countable nouns",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Mancunian English"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2016 May 12, “maxc73”, “Robbie Williams ‘confesses’ to digging holes in school’s playing field”, in The Herald, Plymouth, Devon, archived from the original on 2017-03-16",
          "text": "Remember this story about police hunting a metal detector enthusiast suspected of digging 20 holes in a school playing field in Cornwall? It’s taken a rather unusual twist. Pop superstar Robbie Williams appears to have ’fessed up to the crime. The former Take That star, who is a keen metal detecting enthusiast, retweeted the West Briton newspaper’s version of the story, telling ‘Dibble’ – a Mancunian slang term for the police which comes from the character Officer Dibble in the cartoon Top Cat – to ‘do one’, vowing the police will never catch him alive.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A police officer, especially one serving with Greater Manchester Police."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "police officer",
          "police officer"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, British, originally Manchester, countable) A police officer, especially one serving with Greater Manchester Police."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "countable",
        "slang"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English uncountable nouns",
        "Mancunian English",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Watch out, lads! Here comes the dibble!",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002, Colin Ward, 'Chubby' Chris Henderson, “Revelling in It”, in Who Wants It?, Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing",
          "text": "In Moss Side they called the police Dibble, after Officer Dibble in the cartoon Top Cat, so the name had sprung from that.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Theodore Dalrymple [pseudonym; Anthony Malcolm Daniels], “How Not to Do It”, in Not with a Bang but a Whimper: The Politics and Culture of Decline, Chicago, Ill.: Ivan R. Dee, pages 125–126",
          "text": "Bein' in the dibble [police] is no cakewalk when you're black. / If you don't get fitted, then you'll prob'ly get the sack.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2013, Colin Blaney, Hotshot: The Story of a Little Red Devil",
          "text": "They shoved me in the back of a police van and started driving to the cop shop. I was sitting in the sweatbox, wondering how the Dibble had got onto me so quickly, when I heard a voice from another section of the van say, 'Are you P from Macclesfield?'",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Preceded by the: the police."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "the",
          "the#English"
        ],
        [
          "police",
          "police"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, British, originally Manchester, uncountable) Preceded by the: the police."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdɪb(ə)l/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɪbəl"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-dibble.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-au-dibble.ogg/En-au-dibble.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-au-dibble.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "a police officer",
      "word": "police officer"
    },
    {
      "sense": "the police",
      "word": "police"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Hanna-Barbera",
    "New York Police Department",
    "Top Cat"
  ],
  "word": "dibble"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (93a6c53 and 21a9316). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.