Nibble

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈnɪbl̩/

Definitions

1. To engage in the action of taking tiny bites or small amounts of food repeatedly while gently gnawing on it
2. To eat by taking small, gentle bites repeatedly ; to take a small portion or quantity of something ; to lightly touch or bite something in a cautious manner
3. To feed oneself in little bits at a time ; to consume a minor segment of an item or resource ; to softly clamp on something without applying much pressure

Etymology: The verb "nibble" first appears in Late Middle English as "nebillen" or "nebyll," meaning to peck away at something, and it could also carry the figurative sense of trying out a part of a song. Its origin is uncertain. It may come from Middle Low German "nibbelen," meaning to eat in small bites or peck, and it has close relatives in Middle Dutch "cnibbelen," modern Dutch "knibbelen" and "nibbelen," and Saterland Frisian "nibje." Some scholars link it instead to a variant of "knabbelen," and trace the whole family back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to press," or else treat it as imitative of the sound of small repeated bites. The noun was formed from the verb. Its most playful modern twist is a pun: in computing, a "nibble" is half a byte, four bits, and the word's sound makes it a joke on "byte" and "bite," since a byte is itself a mouthful of data.

Synonyms: bite, chew, snack, munch, gnaw

Antonyms: gobble, devour, consume, ingest, swallow