What does wabe mean?

Lewis Carroll defined 'wabe' on two separate occasions, and gve two separate meanings.

And "the wabe" is the grass-plot round a sun-dial, I suppose?' said Alice

Of course it is. It's called "wabe," you know, because it goes a long way before it, and a long way behind it -- '

And a long way beyond it on each side,' Alice added.

Lewis Carroll (1871)

WABE: (derived from the verb to 'swab' or 'soak') "the side of a hill" (from its being soaked by the rain)

Lewis Carroll (1855)

This demonstrates that the meanings in the poem Jabberwocky are not absolute, but are open to interpretation.