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.

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.

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