Knobbing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of shaping, covering, or decorating with rounded projections ; a historical process of applying clay lumps to form or repair a surface such as a wall or furnace ; the technique of creating raised nodules in material work
2. The method of adding bulges, bumps, or knotted masses for structural or decorative purposes ; the archaic craft of affixing clay nodes to reinforce or patch structures ; a way of forming protuberances in masonry or pottery
3. Process involving molding or attaching knob-like lumps to achieve structural strength or ornamental effect ; an old method of applying balls of clay for repair in building or metallurgy ; the practice of making surfaces uneven with protruding shapes

Etymology: Knobbing is the present participle of "knob" used in the sense of covering something with raised bumps, and the verb grows out of a noun with a surprisingly wide reach. Its ancestor was a Proto-Germanic word meaning roughly "knob, lump," and the family it belongs to is strikingly broad: German "Knopf" (button), Dutch "knop" (bud, knob), Danish "knap" (button), Swedish "knopp" (bud), and Finnish "nappi" (button) all descend from the same stock. Many of these words share a sense of small rounded projections, so a button and a flower bud turn out to be close cousins of the knob on a door. The English noun came into Middle English from Middle Low German "knobbe," which meant a knob, a knot in wood, or a bud. Its relatives also cluster around the verb "knead," since the Proto-Germanic root "knudaną" shares that kn- sound pattern, though the link is probably ultimate rather than direct.