scrabble

scrabble n

Du. schrabbelen, a bad writer, scrawler.

1. Scribble; scrawl; irregular letters; meaningless writing; [fig.] scratching; abrasion; scrape; [possible word play on “rabble”]: mob; riffraff; drunkenness; disorderly conduct among the working class; [metaphor] noise; racket of a factory; commotion of an industry; [fig.] scrambling; struggle; disruption; madness; threat to order; [NW quotes 1 Samuel 21 about David's behavior: “And he changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.”]