Dictionary

neb en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /nɛb/

Etymology

From Middle English neb, from Old English nebb (“beak, nose, face”), from Proto-Germanic *nabją (“beak, nose”). Cognate with Danish næb, Dutch neb, German Schnabel, Old Norse nef, Swedish näbb, Swedish regional näv.

Meanings

1. (dialectal) A bird's beak.
2. (obsolete) A person's mouth.
3. (dialectal) A person's nose.
4. (dialectal) The peak of a flat cap.
5. (dialectal) The nose or snout of an animal, now especially of a fish.
6. (dialectal) A projecting extremity; a point or sharp projection.
   • In Acorns the nebb dilating splitteth the two sides, which sometimes lye whole, when the Oak is sproated two handfuls. 1658, Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, Folio Society, published 2007, page 183:
7. (dialectal) A nib, as of a pen.

Forms

Deriveds

finger neb · nebby · nebbie

Relateds

nib · neb-neb · nipple · nib · neb-nose

Synonyms

bill · pecker

wikidata: Q31528

neb en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /nɛb/

Meanings

1. (abbreviation, alt-of, clipping) Clipping of nebulizer.
   alt of nebulizer
   • […] the standard nebulizer treatment is withheld from the child. […] Other physicians and nurses not associated with the hospital told me […] "the child either needs a neb or doesn't need a neb." 1994, United States House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Regulation, Business Opportunities, and Technology, Problems in Securing Informed Consent of Subjects, page 108

Forms