▪ I. bib, v.
(bɪb)
Forms: 4–6, 9 dial. beb, 6 bibb, byb, bybbe, 6–7 bibbe, 4– bib.
[Possibly an adaptation of L. bib-ĕre, to drink; but it may have originated independently, in an imitation of repeated movements of the lips; cf. the variant beb.]
trans. and intr. To drink; keep on drinking, tipple.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 1499 A boster on benche bibbes þer-of. c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 242 This Millere hath so wisely bibbed [v.r. bebbed] Ale That as an hors he snorteth in his sleepe. 1566 Drant Horace Sat. vii. E iv b, Thou thinkes by sleepe, and bibbinge wyne, to banishe out all woes. 1641 Vox Borealis in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) IV. 433 If they cannot byte of a bannock, and bibbe of the brooke. c 1645 Howell Lett. ii. 48 As soon a little little Ant Shall bib the Ocean dry. 1879 Browning Ned Bratts 5 Folks kept bibbing beer While the parsons prayed for rain. |
b. bib-all-night: a drunkard, confirmed toper.
| 1612 Sylvester Lacrym. Lacr. Wks. (1621) 1150 Bats, Harpies, Sirens, Centaurs, Bib-all-nights. |
▪ II. bib, n.1
(bɪb)
Also 6 bibbe, 7–8 bibb.
[Prob. from bib v.; but whether because worn by a child when drinking (cf. feeder), or because a bib imbibes moisture (Skeat), is purely conjectural.]
1. a. A cloth placed under a child's chin, to keep the front of the dress clean, esp. at meals.
| 1580 Baret Alv. B 634 A Bibbe for a childes breast: a gorget. 1589 Pappe w. Hatchet C iij, Giue the infant a bibbe. 1613 Beaum. & Fl. Captain iii. v, We'll have a bib, for spoiling of thy doublet. 1785 Cowper Task iv. 226 Misses, at whose age their mothers wore The back-string and the bib. 1840 Hood Kilmansegg xxxii, Her best bibs were made Of rich gold brocade. |
b. A similar article worn over the breast by adults, frequently as the upper part of an apron. best bib and tucker: put for ‘best clothes’ as a whole, properly of girls or women, but also of men. bib-and-brace, applied attrib. to a type of overall having the upper part supported by braces.
| 1687 B. Randolph Archipelago 52 Before their breasts hangs a bibb which reaches a little below their wast. 1737 G. Smith Cur. Relat. I. ii. 132 The Driver is dressed in his best Band and Bib. 1747 tr. Marquis d'Argens' New Memoirs establishing a True Knowledge of Mankind II. 264 The Country-woman..minds nothing on Sundays so much as her best Bib and Tucker. 1793 [see tucker n. 3]. 1855 Sharpe's Lond. Mag. V. 92/2 All-London..puts on its best bib and tucker. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iv, She girded herself with an apron, and contrived a bib to it. 1875 Lanc. Gloss. (E.D.S.) 37 An' put him his best bib-an-tucker on, an' went to look for a place for him. 1959 Manchester Guardian 13 July 5/6 The engine-driver, a dapper figure in bib-and-brace overalls. |
c. attrib., as in bib-apron, bib-cravat.
| 1674 Dryden Prol. Open. New House 27 Only fools..Th' extremity of modes will imitate, The dangling knee-fringe and the bib-cravat. 1750 Lady Featherstonhaugh in Mem. Ld. Gambier (1861) I. ii. 31 A laced bib-apron was brought to me. 1880 Kinglake Crimea VI. xi. 440 The gracious bib-apron seemed to fold her in honour. |
2. A patch of feathers resembling a bib under the bill of a bird.
| 1854 Poultry Chron. I. 391/1 A dark bib under the bill. 1948 Brit. Birds XLI. 156 A distinct bib..contrasted with white under-parts. |
▪ III. bib, n.2
(bɪb)
[from bib n.1: see quot. 1836.]
A fish; the whiting-pout (Gadus luscus).
| 1674 Ray Fishes 101 The Bib or Blinds. 1766 Pennant Zool. (1769) III. 149 The Bib (Gadus luscus)..is esteemed a good eating fish, not unlike the whiting in taste. 1836 Yarrell Brit. Fishes II. 159 From a singular power of inflating a membrane which covers the eyes and other parts about the head, which, when thus distended, have the appearance of bladders, it is called Pout, Bib, Blens, and Blinds. 1880 Gunther Fishes 541. |