小口地吃
這一族就是核心畫面本身：嘴巴對著食物，一次只帶走一點點。
verb · B1
To eat something in small, quick bites, taking a little at a time instead of big mouthfuls. It is also used when an animal or a fish takes tiny bites at food.
小口咬著吃
核心畫面
Picture a rabbit at a lettuce leaf. The teeth touch, they take almost nothing, and then they come back and do it again. That is the whole word: a small, light, repeated touch of the teeth. Nothing about it is fast or , and no single bite matters much — what matters is that it keeps happening. Once you can see that picture, the other meanings are the same movement pointed at different things: at a person's ear, where it means love and play; at a fishing bait, where it means something came close but is not caught; at money or time, where a little keeps disappearing until a lot has gone.
可以想成兔子啃生菜葉的畫面。牙齒碰一下，幾乎沒帶走什麼，然後又回來咬一次。整個字就是這個動作：小、輕、而且會重複。不…更多收起
可以想成兔子啃生菜葉的畫面。牙齒碰一下，幾乎沒帶走什麼，然後又回來咬一次。整個字就是這個動作：小、輕、而且會重複。不急、不用力，單獨一口都不算什麼；真正有份量的是它一直在發生。看得到這個畫面之後，其他意思其實都是同一個動作換了對象：咬在耳朵上，變成親暱和玩鬧；咬在魚餌上，變成「有靠過來，但還沒上鉤」；咬在錢和時間上，變成每次少一點點，久了就少很多。From the word’s history
Dictionaries trace the verb to Late Middle English nebillen, 'to peck away at something', possibly from Middle Low German nibbelen, 'to eat in small bites, peck'; the origin is uncertain and may simply be imitative. Either way, the earliest recorded sense already carries the small repeated bite.
字典把這個動詞追到中古英語 nebillen（一點一點地啄、咬），可能來自中古低地德語 nibbelen（小口吃、啄）；來源並不確定，也有一說是模仿聲音而來。無論哪一條，最早記到的意思裡就已經有「小口、反覆」這個動作了。
Wiktionary etymology supplied in this packet (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:713798317:67266): 'from Late Middle English nebillen… possibly from Middle Low German nibbelen… or imitative.'
Four branches
親暱的輕咬
同樣是「牙齒只碰一點點」，只是碰的對象從食物換成了人或動物的身體。
verb · B2
To bite a person or an animal very gently and softly, usually on the ear, neck or fingers, as a sign of love or play rather than to hurt them.
輕咬（親暱地）
碰一下的興趣
這一族從釣魚的那一格畫面長出來：魚碰了餌，但還沒咬住。
noun · C1
A small sign that someone may be interested in something you are selling or offering — a first touch of interest, not yet a real offer.
一點興趣／初步詢問
一點一點被咬掉
核心畫面裡「每次只拿走一點、但一直來」的那一半被放大了，咬的對象換成錢、時間或權利。
verb · B2
To make something slowly smaller, taking a little at a time, so that it is hard to notice until a lot of it has gone. Usually used as 'nibble away at something'.
一點一點地侵蝕