Sticky, gooey, or covered with a thick substance; smeared or crudely coated; messy or sloppy in appearance.
From 'daub' plus '-y' suffix (forming adjectives from verbs/nouns, like 'messy' from 'mess'). Root from Old French 'dauber' meaning to coat or smear.
Adjectives ending in '-y' are incredibly common in English—they let us turn any noun or verb into a quality, which is why we have so many ways to describe sticky things!
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