Doing something in a superficial or casual way without serious commitment; or when birds dip their beaks in water to feed.
From Middle English 'dablen,' possibly related to Old Norse origins; originally referred to moving through water gently, evolved to mean casual or superficial involvement in activities.
Dabbling is one of those words we use judgmentally—'he's just dabbling'—but Renaissance polymaths like Leonardo da Vinci were ultimate dabblers across art, science, and engineering, proving that shallow exploration sometimes leads to genius insights.
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