dimble Obs. exc. dial.
(ˈdɪmb(ə)l)
[Of uncertain origin, possibly a deriv. or comb. of dim, gloom or obscurity being a usual attribute; connexion with dingle is also possible. The midland districts (e.g. Leicester, Derby, Warwick, Shropsh.) retain the word, usually in the form dumble, occasionally drumble.]
A deep and shady dell or hollow, a dingle.
| 1589 R. Robinson Gold. Mirr. (Chetham Soc.) 5 Eccho..That liues in woodes, And rocky ragged tours, and Dales with Dymbles deep. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. ii. 27 Satyres that in shades and gloomy dimbles dwell. 1622 Ibid. xxviii. (1748) 378 Dimbles hid from day. 1637 B. Jonson Sad Sheph. ii. vii, Within a gloomy dimble, she doth dwell Downe in a pitt, ore-growne with brakes and briars. 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Dumblehole; also Drumble, a rough wooded dip in the ground; a dingle. 1881 Leicester Gloss., Dimble, a dingle, dell. |