Bedabbles

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Splashes or spatters something with liquid until it is wet, muddy or stained all over
2. Sprinkles a surface with drops or splotches of a liquid, leaving it marked and soiled
3. Wets or dirties an object by flicking or scattering a liquid or mud across its surface

Etymology: Bedabbles is simply the third-person singular present form of "bedabble," so the story belongs to the verb itself. "Bedabble" is formed from the prefix "be-" plus "dabble." The prefix comes down from Old English, where it was a common way to add an intensifying or covering sense to a verb, and "dabble" is the base that gives the word its sense of splashing or spattering. Put together, "bedabble" means to wet or spatter something thoroughly with a liquid, often until it is spotted or soaked. The pattern is the same as "besmear" or "bespatter," where "be-" turns an action into one that covers its object all over. Nothing in the record suggests a dramatic shift in meaning, so the word's interest lies mainly in how neatly its parts combine.

Synonyms: bespatter, splatter, spatter, besplatter