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babble

verb
/ˈbæb.(ə)l/

Etymology

From Middle English babelen, from Old English *bæblian, also wæflian (“to talk foolishly”), from Proto-West Germanic *bablōn, *wablōn, variants of *babalōn, from Proto-Germanic *babalōną (“to chatter”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰa-bʰa-, perhaps a reduplication of Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to say”), or a variant of Proto-Indo-European *baba- (“to talk vaguely, mumble”), or a merger of the two, possibly ultimately onomatopoeic/mimicry of infantile sounds (compare babe, baby). Cognate with Saterland Frisian babbelje (“to babble”), West Frisian babbelje (“to babble”), Dutch babbelen (“to babble, chat”), German Low German babbeln (“to babble”), German babbeln (“to babble”), Danish bable, bavle (“to babble”), Swedish babbla (“to babble”), Icelandic babla (“to babble”). Unrelated to Babel.

  1. derived from *baba-✻
  2. derived from *bʰa-bʰa-✻
  3. inherited from *babalōną✻
  4. inherited from *bablōn✻
  5. inherited from *bæblian✻
  6. inherited from babelen

Definitions

  1. To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly

    To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds

    • The men were babbling, so we couldn't make sense of anything.

  2. To talk incoherently

    To talk incoherently; to utter meaningless words.

  3. To talk too much

    To talk too much; to chatter; to prattle.

    • She babbled on for hours about the importance of some new gadget.
    • Radical rather than rhetorical, babble like an oracle
  4. ›+ 6 more definitions

    1. To make a continuous murmuring noise, like shallow water running over stones.

      • Hounds are said to babble, or to be babbling, when they are too noisy after having found a good scent.
      • In every babbling brook he finds a friend.

    2. To utter in an indistinct or incoherent way

      To utter in an indistinct or incoherent way; to repeat words or sounds in a childish way without understanding.

    3. To reveal

      To reveal; to give away (a secret).

    4. Idle talk

      Idle talk; senseless prattle.

      • This is mere moral babble.
      • Assassin's Creed gets described as "more than a game" and "a platform for meaningful exploration and reflection wrapped in the excitement of unforgettable gameplay"—which is executive babble, let's be honest.

    5. Inarticulate speech

      Inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur.

      • [M]an has an instinctive tendency to speak, as we see in the babble of our young children; whilst no child has an instinctive tendency to brew, bake, or write.

    6. A sound like that of water gently flowing around obstructions.

      • [T]he babble of the stream / Fell, and without the steady glare / Shrank the sick olive sere and small.

The neighborhood

Derived

babblative, babbledom, babblemouth, babbler, babbling brook, outbabble, babblesome, babble-word, babble word, babbly, Babeldom, bibble-babble, cryptobabble, cyberbabble, ecobabble, Eurobabble, mathbabble, niggerbabble, yoga-babble

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for babble. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA