Dribble
/ˈdrɪb.əl/noun
To let liquid or small amounts of something fall or flow in drops; in sports, to move the ball by repeatedly bouncing or tapping it.
Did you know?The word is part of a whole old Germanic family of drip-and-drop words, so its power is in the sound itself: language imitating the tiny, repeated motion it describes.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dhrebʰ-
“to drip, fall in drops”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*drib- / *drup-
“to drip or trickle”
Old English
OE
drēopan
“to drip, fall in drops”
Middle English
ME
driblen
“to drip, trickle, or fall slowly in small amounts”
16th Century
English
dribble
“to fall or flow in drops; to let saliva or liquid run from the mouth”
19th Century
English
dribble
“to move a ball by repeated small taps or bounces”