nab
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English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From dialectal nap (“to seize, lay hold of”), probably of North Germanic origin, from Old Swedish nappa (“to pluck, pinch”).
Related to Danish nappe (“to tweak, snatch at, catch, seize”), Swedish nappa (“to take, grab, pinch”), Norwegian Bokmål nappe (“to grab, snatch, pluck, yank”).
Alternative forms
Verb
nab (third-person singular simple present nabs, present participle nabbing, simple past and past participle nabbed)
- (informal, transitive) To seize, arrest or take into custody (a criminal or fugitive).
- 1887, Anna Katharine Green, 7 to 12, A Detective Story, G. P. Putnam's Sons, page 2:
- As I was going out of the door, a fellow detective came hurriedly in. "Nabbed them," cried he.
- 2019 July 3, Mike D'Angelo, “Oscar Isaac and Ben Affleck blunder through a heavy heist in J.C. Chandor’s Triple Frontier”, in AV Club[1], archived from the original on 21 November 2019:
- Their target: a drug kingpin who reportedly keeps millions of dollars in his fortress of a compound. Pope has been working for years to nab this baddie, and sincerely wants to stop his reign of terror,)
- 1887, Anna Katharine Green, 7 to 12, A Detective Story, G. P. Putnam's Sons, page 2:
- (informal, transitive) To grab or snatch something.
- (Internet slang, transitive) To steal or copy another user's post.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
to seize a criminal
|
to grab or snatch
Etymology 2
Noun
nab (plural nabs)
- The summit of a hill.
- 1828, George Young, A Geological Survey of the Yorkshire Coast:
- At Clayton point and other nabs to the south of Scarborough.
- The cock of a gunlock.
- 1677–1683, Joseph Moxon, “(please specify the page)”, in Mechanick Exercises, or The Doctrine of Handy-Works, […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] Joseph Moxon, published 1678–1683, →OCLC:
- The Toe, or Nab of the Bolt, which rises […] above the Straight on the Top of the Bolt: The Office of this Nab, is to receive the Bottom of the Bit of the Key, when in turning it about, it shoots the Bolt backward or forwards.
- (locksmithing) The keeper, or box into which the lock is shot.
- 1703, Joseph Moxon, Mechanick Exercises:
- the Bottom of the Bit may fall almost to the Bottom of the Nab , and shoot the Bolt back
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “nab”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams
Northern Kurdish
Adjective
nab
Southeastern Tepehuan
Etymology
Cognate with Northern Tepehuan návoi, O'odham nav, Central Tarahumara napó, Mayo naabo, Hopi naavu.
Noun
nab
- prickly pear cactus (clarification of this definition is needed)
Derived terms
References
- R. de Willett, Elizabeth, et al. (2016) Diccionario tepehuano de Santa María Ocotán, Durango (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 48)[2] (in Spanish), electronic edition, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 132
White Hmong
Etymology
From Proto-Hmong-Mien *ʔnaŋ (“snake”). Cognate with Iu Mien naang.[1]
Pronunciation
Noun
nab (classifier: tus)
Derived terms
References
- Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary[3], SEAP Publications, →ISBN, page 135.
- ^ Ratliff, Martha (2010) Hmong-Mien language history (Studies in Language Change; 8), Camberra, Australia: Pacific Linguistics, →ISBN, page 277.
Categories:
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/æb
- Rhymes:English/æb/1 syllable
- English terms derived from North Germanic languages
- English terms derived from Old Swedish
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English informal terms
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- English internet slang
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- Northern Kurdish lemmas
- Northern Kurdish adjectives
- Southeastern Tepehuan lemmas
- Southeastern Tepehuan nouns
- stp:Cacti
- White Hmong terms inherited from Proto-Hmong-Mien
- White Hmong terms derived from Proto-Hmong-Mien
- White Hmong terms with IPA pronunciation
- White Hmong lemmas
- White Hmong nouns