Meaning

noun a light touch or stroke

noun a small quantity of something moist or liquid

verb apply (usually a liquid) to a surface

originFrom Middle English dabben (“to strike”), probably of North Germanic origin, related to Old Icelandic dabba (“to tap, slap”), perhaps ultimately imitative. Compare also with Middle Dutch dabben (“to pinch, knead, fumble, dabble”) (Dutch dabben (“(of a horse) to stamp with the forelegs”)), Dutch deppen (“to dab”), possibly German tappen (“to fumble, grope”). The noun is from Middle English dabbe…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0