נָבֵל (b. h.; cmp. בָּלָה) to fade, shrivel, decay. Y. R. Hash. I, 56ᵈ bot. הֶעָלֶה נוֹבֵל, v. בּוּל III. Erub. 54ᵃ הללו נוֹבְלִין, v. הָלָה. Gen. R. s. 53 (ref. to Is. XL, 7) יבש חצירו … ונ׳ ציצו וכ׳ Abimelech’s grass is dried up and his flower has faded, but &c.; a. e.—V. נוֹבֶלֶת.
Pi. - נִבֵּל 1) to cause fading; to ruin, deface; to disgrace. Y. Shebi. I, beg. 33ᵃ מיכן ואילך הוא מְנַבֵּל פירותיו after that time (by ploughing an orchard field after the Feast of Weeks) he causes deterioration of his fruits. Ib. IV, 35ᵇ bot.; Y. Maas. Sh. V, beg. 55ᵈ אילן שהוא מנבל פירותיו a tree which fails to mature its fruits; (Ḥull. 77ᵇ; Sabb. 67ᵃ שמַשִּׁיר, v. נָשַׁר). Y. Sabb. IX, 11ᵈ; Y. Ab. Zar. III, 43ᵃ bot. צאהו נַבְּלֵיהוּ treat him (the idol) like excrements, make him abominable (change his name cacophemistically). Cant. R. to V, 16 מנבל את עצמו בטיט he begrimes himself by working in clay. Ib. אל תְּנַבְּלוּ וכ׳ do not degrade yourselves by any evil thing (ref. to Lev. XI, 43; XIX, 28); Num. R. s. 10, beg. Ib. (ed. Amst. p. 240ᵇ) המְנַבֶּלֶת עצמה who neglects her appearance, opp. מקשטת. Ber. 63ᵇ (ref. to Prov. XXX, 32 נָבַלְתָּ) כל המנבל עצמו על וכ׳ he who lowers himself (exposes his ignorance) for the sake of learning, shall finally be raised; Midr. Prov. to ch. XXX אם נִבֵּל וכ׳; Gen. R. s. 81 אם נִבַּלְתָּ עצמך; Ab. d’R. N. ch. XI אם מנבל אדם עצמו וכ׳ if a man makes himself look offensive (through privations) &c.—Midr. Prov. l. c. (ref. to Prov. l. c.) זו יון שגזרו לנַבֵּל נשותיהן וכ׳ (not לבטל) that means the Greeks who decreed to disgrace Israel’s women; a. fr.—נ׳ פיו to make one’s mouth turpid, to talk obscenely. Sabb. 33ᵃ; Keth. 8ᵇ; a. e. —2) (denom. of נְבֵלָה) to make an animal ritually forbidden by unskillful slaughtering. Tosef. B. Kam. X, 10 המוסר … ונִיבְּלָהּ if one entrusts his animal to a slaughterer, and he makes it unfit, v. infra.