drabbler

English

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Alternative forms

• drabler

Etymology

From drabble +‎ -er.

Noun

drabbler (plural drabblers)

1. (historical, nautical) A piece of canvas laced to the bonnet of a sail, to give it a greater depth or more drop.
   • 1653, Francis Rabelais [i.e., François Rabelais], translated by [Thomas Urquhart, Peter Anthony Motteux], The Works of Francis Rabelais, Doctor in Physick: Containing Five Books of the Lives, Heroick Deeds, and Sayings of Gargantua, and His Sonne Pantagruel. […], London: […] [Thomas Ratcliffe and Edward Mottershead] for Richard Baddeley, […], →OCLC; republished in volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] Navarre Society […], [1948], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):

     The next day, merrily pursuing our voyage, we came in sight of the island of Chaneph, where Pantagruel's ship could not arrive, the wind chopping about, and then failing us so that we were becalmed, and could hardly get ahead, tacking about from starboard to larboard, and larboard to starboard, though to our sails we added drabblers.

   • 1923, Charles Boardman Hawes, The Dark Frigate, Chapter 6:

     Then came the voice of the master, which always his mate echoed, ‘‘Let fall your mainsail!” And the echo, “‘Let fall your mainsail!” “Yea, yea!” “On with your bonnets and drabblers!”’ And again came the echo from the mate, ‘‘On with your bonnets and drabblers!”

References

• “drabbler”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.