pebble
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
From Middle English pibel (also in pibleston), from Old English papolstān (“pebble-stone”), from Old English *papol, *pyppel, *pæbbel of unknown origin + Old English stān. Compare Albanian popël. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)
Pronunciation
Noun
pebble (countable and uncountable, plural pebbles)
- A small stone, especially one rounded by the action of water.
- c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
- Then let the pebbles on the hungry beach
Fillip the stars;
- 1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 4:
- And trifles for choice matters, worth a sponge;
As children gathering pebbles on the shore.
- (geology) A particle from 4 to 64 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.
- (curling) A small droplet of water intentionally sprayed on the ice that cause irregularities on the surface.
- Transparent and colourless rock crystal.
- Brazilian pebble
- A form of slow-burning gunpowder in large cubical grains.
- Synonyms: cube powder, prismatic powder
- (slang) A small piece of crack cocaine.
Derived terms
Translations
stone
|
rock fragment between 4 and 64 millimetres in diameter
small droplet of water intentionally sprayed on the ice
Verb
pebble (third-person singular simple present pebbles, present participle pebbling, simple past and past participle pebbled)
- (transitive) To pave with pebbles.
- (transitive, curling) To deposit water droplets on the ice.
- to pebble the ice between games
- (transitive) To give (leather) a rough appearance with small rounded prominences.
- (transitive, graph theory) To place a pebble at (a vertex of a graph) according to certain rules; see pebble game.
Translations
To pave with pebbles
|
To deposit water droplets on the ice
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