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bubbe

noun
/ˈbʊbə/UK/ˈbʊbə/US

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish באָבע (bobe, “grandmother”), and then either from a Slavic language or from eastern Middle High German bābe (“old woman”), both from Proto-Slavic *baba (“old woman”) and ultimately imitative of a child’s babbling. Doublet of baba.

  1. derived from *baba✻ — “old woman”
  2. derived from bābe — “old woman”
  3. borrowed from באָבע — “grandmother”

Definitions

  1. A grandmother.

    • The Bube explained the situation in voluble Yiddish, and made Esther wince again under the impassioned invective on her clumsiness. […] If the family died of starvation, their blood would be upon her grand-daughter's head.
    • I never met my bubbe, my grandma, the source of all my mother's Yiddish proverbs, […]
    • I dedicate this book to my late grandparents, Morris and Bala Baellow. My bubbe’s inability to write in English turned out to be a blessing: she pressed me into service as her scribe at an early age.

  2. An elderly woman.

    • "I wanna more chocolate, bubbe," said Karl. […] "You heard the bubbe," said Josie. "There isn't any. You act up and cry and I'll give you the back of my hand."

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for bubbe. 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