Unknown; verb sense c. 1790, Shropshire dialect, perhaps variant of chip or derived from Etymology 2 below.
Meanings
(countable, uncountable) Something that has been kibbled, especially grain for use as animal feed.
The pope had already signaled his kids-over-kibbles stance in a 2014 interview with the Rome daily Il Messaggero. When asked whether some in society valued pets more than children, he said that it was a reality that reflected a “sign of cultural degeneration.” 2022 January 6, Elisabetta Povoledo, “Pope Scolds Couples Who Choose Pets Over Kids”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
(countable, uncountable) Any artificial animal feed in pellet form.
(countable, figuratively, uncountable) Food that is high in nutritional value yet tasteless.
From German Kübel (“pail”), from Middle High German kübel, kubel (“bucket, bushel, measure of grain”), from Old High German kubil (“tub, bucket”), from Proto-West Germanic *kubil, from Proto-Germanic *kub- (“to be vaulted, arch”), from Proto-Indo-European *gew-, *gū- (“to bend, curve, arch, vault”).
Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *cupia, from Latin cūpa.
Meanings
An iron bucket used in mines for hoisting anything to the surface.
(slang, uncountable) In the Transformers fandom, pieces of a toy or figure necessary for one mode, but appearing out of place or unnecessary in the other.