daub

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to spread a thick or sticky substance over a surface, often carelessly

   The children began to daub paint across the cardboard scenery.

2. 2
   noun

   a smear, blot, or lump of a thick substance

   A daub of yellow paint marked the edge of the path.

3. 3
   noun

   a crude or poorly executed painting

   The critic dismissed the portrait as a lifeless daub.

Simplified etymology

Daub came through Old French dauber, meaning “clothe in white,” “whitewash,” or “plaster,” from Latin dealbare, “whiten” or “whitewash.” The Latin verb is based on albus, “white,” and the English senses developed from the notion of plastering.

From Middle English dauben, through Old Northern French dauber 'to plaster or whitewash'. It is probably related to Latin dealbare 'to whiten', from de- + albus 'white', though the deeper origin is uncertain.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary