Webster's 1828 Dictionary
SWABBER
n.One that uses a swab to clean a floor or deck; on board of ships of war, an inferior officer, whose business is to see that the ship is kept clean.
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
SWABBER
SWABBER Swab "ber, v. t.
Defn: To swab. [R.]
SWABBER
Swab "ber, n. Etym: [D. zwabber; cf. D. zwabberen to swab, G.schwabbern, Dan. svabre, Sw. svab a swab, svabla to swab. ]
1. One who swabs a floor or desk. Shak.
2. (Naut. )
Defn: Formerly, an interior officer on board of British ships of war, whose business it was to see that the ship was kept clean.
3. Same as Swobber, 2.
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