Nibble

[nib-uh l] /ˈnɪb əl/

verb (used without object), nibbled, nibbling.
1.
to bite off small bits.
2.
to eat or chew in small bites:
Give him a graham cracker to nibble on.
3.
to bite, eat, or chew gently and in small amounts (usually followed by at):
She was so upset she could only nibble at her food.
verb (used with object), nibbled, nibbling.
4.
to bite off small bits of (something).
5.
to eat (food) by biting off small pieces.
6.
to bite in small bits:
He nibbled each morsel with great deliberation.
noun
7.
a small morsel or bit:
Each nibble was eaten with the air of an epicure.
8.
an act or instance of nibbling.
9.
a response by a fish to bait on a fishing line.
10.
any preliminary positive response or reaction.
Idioms
11.
nibble away at, to cause to decrease or diminish bit by bit:
Inflation was nibbling away at her savings. The rains nibbled at the loam.
Also, nibble at.
/ˈnɪbəl/
verb when intr, often foll by at
1.
(esp of animals, such as mice) to take small repeated bites (of)
2.
to take dainty or tentative bites: to nibble at a cake
3.
to bite (at) gently or caressingly
4.
(intransitive) to make petty criticisms
5.
(intransitive) to consider tentatively or cautiously: to nibble at an idea
noun
6.
a small mouthful
7.
an instance or the act of nibbling
8.
(pl) (informal) small items of food, esp savouries, usually served with drinks
v.

“to bite gently,” c.1500, perhaps from Low German nibbeln “to nibble, gnaw,” related to Middle Low German nibbelen, Middle Dutch knibbelen “to gnaw,” source of Dutch knibbelen “to cavail, squabble.” Related: Nibbled; nibbling.
n.

1650s, “act of nibbling,” from nibble (v.). As “a small bite,” from 1838.

data
/nib’l/ (US “nybble”, by analogy with “bite” -> “byte”) Half a byte. Since a byte is nearly always eight bits, a nibble is nearly always four bits (and can therefore be represented by one hex digit).
Other size nibbles have existed, for example the BBC Microcomputer disk file system used eleven bit sector numbers which were described as one byte (eight bits) and a nibble (three bits).
Compare crumb, tayste, dynner; see also bit, nickle, deckle.
The spelling “nybble” is uncommon in Commonwealth Hackish as British orthography suggests the pronunciation /ni:’bl/.
(1997-12-03)