*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of dob

Uncertain. Possibly from Middle English dobben.

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To report a person to someone in authority for a wrongdoing. (For transitive forms see dob in, dob on.) · To play truant.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Uncertain. Possibly from Middle English dobben.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "unc",
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Uncertain"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "dobben"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English dobben"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "dobben",
      "dobben#Middle_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To report a person to someone in authority for a wrongdoing. (For transitive forms see dob in, dob on.)",
        "To play truant."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "New-Zealand",
        "intransitive",
        "slang",
        "Northern-Ireland",
        "ambitransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "392e0bf8bbc6427e4fa18d2faf3e2274d1b3a2194d61a84f911325466049e041",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7d0ca667298f365d3d7aef7ec87f361cdb80bb2fee06db966a7da26da54e5d16",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 471636
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A small amount of something, especially paste.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Probably variation of dab.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "dab",
      "dab#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A small amount of something, especially paste."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "09c2a7582ba703a598b2cdb72ac89860445a5866a86f883fa3707265a36ced48",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e819347e74da0243724de3a2a8db2f7f966df7e3567ce1a8f161f9469e284892",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 471637
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

Initialism of date of birth.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Initialism.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Initialism of date of birth."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "initialism"
      ],
      "recordId": "1de7a8db2fe41479d10d8a2d73c94e0e3c00feb3ae3129beac7b30ce8292778b",
      "rawRecordSha256": "4a4d2402e2776a1371fd4c9024d240e494f7a4a95e610fb268106397a0c335d4",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 471638
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
verb

In the scouting movement, to chant dob to indicate that one will do one's best to follow the scouting laws.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Short for do our best. dyb (or dib) and dob were used as abbreviated forms of do your best and do our best in certain Scout chants.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "dyb",
      "dyb#English"
    ],
    [
      "dib",
      "dib#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "In the scouting movement, to chant dob to indicate that one will do one's best to follow the scouting laws."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "humorous",
        "intransitive",
        "sometimes"
      ],
      "recordId": "820511a11359b5c5099f268b44a3aca4c9e6ac507b8b17e2a85d1bb7017da814",
      "rawRecordSha256": "34acfb69dd221985f5e13f1b45321e14dfdcd1fcb2d8db0f32b700529a3b9c1a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 471639
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for dob →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZG9i