Forgotten English Friday strikes again:
nabble - "To gnaw. A stronger word than nibble, by a change of vowel. Mice nibble and rats nabble our victuals, and hares and rabbits our growing vegetables. —Rev. Robert Forby's Vocabulary of East Anglia, 1830"
A regionalism I can only wish had escaped into general usage, alas. Confirming this is difficult, as requires sifting out this word from all the search hits on nabble.com.
---L.
nabble - "To gnaw. A stronger word than nibble, by a change of vowel. Mice nibble and rats nabble our victuals, and hares and rabbits our growing vegetables. —Rev. Robert Forby's Vocabulary of East Anglia, 1830"
A regionalism I can only wish had escaped into general usage, alas. Confirming this is difficult, as requires sifting out this word from all the search hits on nabble.com.
---L.