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Nibble vs Caress - What's the difference?

nibble | caress |

In transitive terms the difference between nibble and caress

is that nibble is to bite lightly while caress is to affect as if with a caress.

nibble

English

Etymology 1

Perhaps from (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)
  • A small, quick bite taken with the front teeth.
  • (in the plural, nibbles) Small snacks such as crisps/potato chips or nuts, often eaten to accompany drinks.
    • Derived terms
    * nibbly

    Verb

    (nibbl)
  • To eat with small, quick bites.
    • The rabbit nibbled the lettuce.
  • * 2 November 2014 , Alex James in (The Guardian), The day I came face-to-face with a tiger
  • *:Giant parrots nibbled seed from the children's fingertips and my sister peeled a couple of satsumas for the lemurs.
  • * 1911 , (Rudyard Kipling), Big Steamers
  • *:"For the bread that you eat and the biscuits you nibble ,
  • *:The sweets that you suck and the joints that you carve,
  • *:They are brought to you daily by all us Big Steamers--
  • *:And if anyone hinders our coming you'll starve!"
  • To bite lightly.
    • He nibbled at my neck and made me shiver.
  • To consume gradually.
  • * 11 May 2011 , Ann Carrns in The (New York Times), Prepaid Cards Subject Jobless to Host of Fees
  • *:A report out this week from the National Consumer Law Center lays out a host of ways in which banks nibble away at jobless benefits with fees the center called “junk.”

    • Etymology 2

    From nibble', punning on the homophony of '''byte''' and ' bite

    Alternative forms

    * nybble

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (computing) A unit of memory equal to half a byte, or four bits.http://foldoc.org/nibble
  • * 1993 , Richard E. Haskell, Introduction to computer engineering (page 287)
    • That is, the lower nibble (the 4 bits 1010 = A) has been masked to zero.

    References

    caress

    English

    Noun

    (caresses)
  • An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness.
  • * Longfellow
    • Wooed her with his soft caresses .
  • * Macaulay
    • He exerted himself to win by indulgence and caresses the hearts of all who were under his command.
  • A gentle stroking or rubbing.

    • Verb

  • To touch or kiss lovingly; to fondle.
    • She loves being caressed by her boyfriend.
  • To affect as if with a caress.

    • Synonyms

    * hold * soothe * stroke * kiss

    Antonyms

    * poke * stab * strike * hit

    Anagrams

    * * * *