dimple
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English dympull, likely from Proto-Germanic *dumpila- (“sink-hole, dimple”), from Proto-Germanic *dumpa- (“hole, hollow, pit”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewb- (“deep, hollow”), equivalent to dialectal dump (“deep hole or pool”) + -le (diminutive suffix).
Akin to Old High German tumphilo (“pool”) (whence German Tümpel) and Old English dyppan (“to dip”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /ˈdɪmpəl/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- Rhymes: -ɪmpəl
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Teenage_girl_with_gap_teeth_and_dimples.jpg/220px-Teenage_girl_with_gap_teeth_and_dimples.jpg)
Noun
[edit]dimple (plural dimples)
- A small depression or indentation in a surface.
- The accident created a dimple in the hood of the car.
- 1815, William Wordsworth, The White Doe of Rylstone; or, The Fate of the Nortons:
- The garden pool's dark surface […] breaks into dimples small and bright.
- Specifically, a small natural depression on the skin, especially on the face near the corners of the mouth.
- You have very cute dimples.
- A small depression, made with a punch on a metal object, as a guide for further drilling.
Synonyms
[edit]- (depression in a surface): dent
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]small depression or indentation in generic surface
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skin depression, especially at corners of the mouth
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Small indentation made on metal object as a guide for drilling
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Verb
[edit]dimple (third-person singular simple present dimples, present participle dimpling, simple past and past participle dimpled)
- (transitive) To create a dimple in.
- The hailstorm dimpled the roof of our car.
- (intransitive) To create a dimple in one's face by smiling.
- The young girl dimpled in glee as she was handed a cupcake.
- To form dimples; to sink into depressions or little inequalities.
- 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number):
- And smiling eddies dimpled o'er the main.
Synonyms
[edit]Translations
[edit]create a dimple in
create dimples in face by smiling
Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms suffixed with -le (diminutive noun)
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪmpəl
- Rhymes:English/ɪmpəl/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
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- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
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- en:Face