pebblyadj.
/ˈpɛbl̩i/, /ˈpɛbli/, U.S. /ˈpɛb(ə)li/ 1. Having many pebbles; covered or paved with pebbles; composed of pebbles.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > a stone > [adjective] > pebble
pebblelOE
pebbly1600
pebbled1609
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique ii. xlii. 269 Hounds-toong groweth..in peblie and vntilled grounde.
1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxvii. 129 Riuers rushing downe..Vpon their peably sholes.
1744 J. Thomson Autumn in Seasons (new ed.) 166 I see the Sands, The pebbly Gravel next, the Layers then Of mingled Moulds, of more retentive Earths.
1774 T. Pennant Tour Scotl. 1772 10 July I. 297 A small bay, with a pebbly beach.
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre I. v. 71 We went up a broad, pebbly path.
1881 Harper's Mag. Dec. 89/1 A sluggish brook, gleaming here and there in the sunshine as it bickers over its pebbly shallows.
1935 H. Read Green Child 5 The persistent lapping of the stream in its pebbly bed.
1994 J. Updike Brazil xvi. 123 The track crossed dry, pebbly rivers on bridges of bending planks.
2. Resembling or reminiscent of pebbles. Also of a surface: having a pebbled or indented appearance; bumpy, uneven.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > harsh or discordant quality > [adjective]
hardOE
rudea1375
stern1390
rougha1400
discordanta1425
stoutc1440
hoarse1513
harsh1530
raughtish1567
rugged1567
dissonant1573
harshy1582
jarry1582
immelodious1601
cragged1605
raggeda1616
unmusicala1616
absonousa1620
unharmoniousa1634
inharmonical1683
unharmonic1694
inharmonious1715
craggy1774
pebbly1793
reedy1795
iron1807
dry1819
inharmonic1828
asperated1835
sawing1851
shrewd1876
coarse1879
callithumpian1886
dissonantal1946
ear-bending1946
sandpaper1953
the world > space > shape > unevenness > [adjective]
unevenc1275
rudea1393
craggeda1400
knaggedc1430
raggedc1450
raggy1483
cocklya1529
rugged1528
knaggy1552
unlevel?a1560
craggy1568
scraggy1574
balkish1577
cockling1582
cockled1600
unequal1613
salebrous1633
scragged1641
inequal1661
unevenly1683
hummocky1767
snaggly1794
snaggy1806
hobblya1825
shreddy1835
scraggly1869
bobbly1909
pebbly1923
snaggled1938
1793 H. Fuseli in Analyt. Rev. Jan. 2 The hoarseness of Northern language bound in pebbly monosyllables.
1851 N. Hawthorne House of Seven Gables x. 158 Phoebe's voice had always a pretty music in it, and could..soothe him by a continued flow of pebbly and brook-like cadences.
1854 H. D. Thoreau Walden 106 I would drink deeper; fish in the sky, whose bottom is pebbly with stars.
1894 G. D. C. Argyll Burdens of Belief 73 These warm and pebbly colours show Your native home to be In lands that since the raging flood Have never seen the sea.
1923 G. G. Denny Fabrics i. 16 Armure..so called because the fabric has a small ridgy or pebbly pattern which suggests chain armor.
1936 G. K. Chesterton Autobiogr. 148 They had shiny pebbly eyes.
1964 McCall's Sewing in Colour i. 8/1 A pebbly crêpe will not noticeably add pounds, but a very rough, nubbly wool tweed may have a decided effect.
1992 A. Maupin Maybe the Moon xxv. 274 Renee knelt and probed delicately at the pebbly flesh on the elf's elbow.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1600