v. & n.
v. 1 tr. & (foll. by at) intr. a take small bites at. b eat in small amounts. c bite at gently or cautiously or playfully. 2 intr. (foll. by at) show cautious interest in.
n. 1 an instance of nibbling. 2 a very small amount of food. 3 Computing half a byte, i.e. 4 bits. nibbler n.
[ prob. of LG or Du. orig.: cf. LG nibbeln gnaw ]