babble
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: simple
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.
Inflected forms:
form: babbles
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: babbling
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: babbled
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: babbled
pos: verb
tags: past
form: babbles
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: The men were babbling, so we couldn't make sense of anything.
gloss: To talk incoherently; to utter meaningless words.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
gloss: To talk too much; to chatter; to prattle.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: She babbled on for hours about the importance of some new gadget.
Radical rather than rhetorical, babble like an oracle
gloss: To make a continuous murmuring noise, like shallow water running over stones.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: 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.
gloss: To utter in an indistinct or incoherent way; to repeat words or sounds in a childish way without understanding.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: All this vvhile John had conn'd over ſuch a Catalogue of hard VVords, as vvere enough to conjure up the Devil; theſe he uſed to babble indifferently in all Companies, eſpecially at Coffee-houſes; ſo that his Neighbour Tradeſmen began to ſhun his Company as a Man that vvas crack'd.
gloss: To reveal; to give away (a secret).
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: Idle talk; senseless prattle.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
usually
examples: 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.
gloss: Inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
usually
examples: [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.
gloss: A sound like that of water gently flowing around obstructions.
pos: noun
tags: uncountable
usually
examples: [T]he babble of the stream / Fell, and without the steady glare / Shrank the sick olive sere and small.
Related words: babblement
babblery
Derived words: babblative
babbledom
Babbledom
babblemouth
babbler
babbling brook
outbabble
babblesome
babble-word
babble word
babbly
Babeldom
bibble-babble
cryptobabble
cyberbabble
ecobabble
Eurobabble
mathbabble
niggerbabble
yoga-babble
Translations: