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Re: Dab hand

Posted by ESC on May 29, 2001

In Reply to: Dab hand posted by Dave Redmond on May 29, 2001

: Does anyone know the derivation of the phrase "dab hand"?

I don't have the answer. But to get the discussion ball rolling:
"British English A to Zed" by Norman W. Schur, it had "dab" (with a b) meaning "to be especially adept at," "dab in the hand" meaning "bribe," and "dabs" meaning fingerprints.

"The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology" by Robert K. Barnhart (HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1995): DAB -- noun. Probably before 1300, heavy blow with a weapon. Verb -- before 1307, deliver a heavy blow with a weapon. Both noun and verb are of uncertain origin. The meaning of strike lightly appeared in 1532, and that of pat with something soft or moist, in 1562.