nab
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English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
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 nappe (“to pluck”).
Alternative forms[edit]
Verb[edit]
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]:
- 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.
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to seize a criminal
to grab or snatch
Etymology 2[edit]
Noun[edit]
nab (plural nabs)
- The summit of an eminence.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)
- The cock of a gunlock.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)
- (locksmithing) The keeper, or box into which the lock is shot.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)
References[edit]
- “nab” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2021.
Anagrams[edit]
Northern Kurdish[edit]
Adjective[edit]
nab
Southeastern Tepehuan[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Cognate with Northern Tepehuan návoi, O'odham nav, Central Tarahumara napó, Mayo naabo, Hopi naavu.
Noun[edit]
nab
- prickly pear cactus (clarification of this definition is needed)
Derived terms[edit]
References[edit]
- 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[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Hmong-Mien *ʔnaŋ (“snake”). Cognate with Iu Mien naang.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
nab
Derived terms[edit]
References[edit]
Categories:
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- 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 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