dobby en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Dobby. Sense “household ghost” from Dob, variant of Rob.
Meanings
- (countable, uncountable) A device in some looms that allows the weaving of small geometric patterns.
- (countable, uncountable) The patterns so woven, or the fabric containing the patterns.
-
(countable, uncountable) An evil or mischievous fairy or ghost sometimes said to haunt a building or household.
'Twas no livin' woman, for she couldn't rise that height above the water, as they well knew when they came to think; and knew it was a dobby they saw; and ye may be sure they didn't spare prayer and blessin', and went on their course straight before the wind; […].
1871, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, The Haunted Baronet:He understood Greek, Latin, and Hebrew; and, therefore, according to the apprehension, and in the phrase of his brother Wilfred, needed not to care “for ghaist or bar-ghaist, devil or dobbie.”
1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], Rob Roy. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC:
- (archaic, countable, uncountable) A dotard.
- (qualifier:chiefly Nottinghamshire, uncountable) The children's game of tag.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| dobbie | alternative | lexicographic | |
| dobbies | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
dottle · dotel · dodipole · mimmerkin · dote · doter · dodipole · dotard · dobby · mimmerkin