bedaub

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /bɪˈdɔb/ UK /bɪˈdɔːb/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to smear or cover with something sticky or dirty

The children bedaubed the walls with finger paint.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to smear or cover with... smear daub besmear plaster coat begrime besmirch

Opposites

clean cleanse

Word family

Derived forms bedaubedbedaubing

Related forms daub

Etymology

From the intensive prefix be- + daub. Daub comes from Old French dauber ('to plaster, whitewash'), from Latin dealbare ('to whiten'), from de- + albus ('white').

be- Old English dealbare Latin albus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# bedaub

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** bɪˈdɔb
**IPA (UK):** bɪˈdɔːb

## Meanings
1. to smear or cover with something sticky or dirty

## Examples
- The children bedaubed the walls with finger paint.

## Synonyms
- smear
- daub
- besmear
- plaster
- coat
- begrime
- besmirch

## Antonyms
- clean
- cleanse

## Derived Forms
- bedaubed
- bedaubing

## Related Forms
- daub

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: be-
- Root: dealbare
- Root: albus

## Etymology
From the intensive prefix be- + daub. Daub comes from Old French dauber ('to plaster, whitewash'), from Latin dealbare ('to whiten'), from de- + albus ('white').

## AI Etymology
Bedaub is from the intensive prefix be- + daub. Daub comes from Old French dauber ('to plaster, whitewash'), from Latin dealbare ('to whiten'), from de- + albus ('white'). Important recorded forms include be- (Old English), dealbare (Latin), and albus (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers to smear or cover with something sticky or dirty. The wider family includes derived forms such as bedaubed and bedaubing and related words such as daub.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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bedaub

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