babble

C2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈbæb.(ə)l/ See IPA manual

Freq #22381

Meanings

1

verb
To talk quickly in a confused or foolish way that is hard to follow.

Please stop babbling and tell me exactly what happened.
2

verb
To make a gentle, continuous bubbling sound, like a small stream.

A clear brook babbled pleasantly over the stones.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to talk quickly in a... blather prattle chatter

2 verb · to make a gentle,... bubble

Word family

Forms babbledbabblesbabbling

Derived forms babblativebabble-wordbabbledombabblemouthbabblerbabblesomebabblybabeldombibble-babblecryptobabblecyberbabbleecobabble

Related forms babblementbabblery

Simplified etymology

Babble entered English in the Middle English period and probably arose from repeated infant sounds such as ba. It likely shares this imitative origin with baby, babe, mama, and papa, and similar forms occur in many languages.

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 bab…

babelen Middle English *bæblian Old English *bablōn Proto-West Germanic *babalōną Proto-Germanic *bʰa-bʰa- Proto-Indo-European *baba- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# babble

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈbæb.(ə)l/
**Frequency rank:** 22381

## Meanings
1. To talk quickly in a confused or foolish way that is hard to follow.
2. To make a gentle, continuous bubbling sound, like a small stream.

## Examples
- Please stop babbling and tell me exactly what happened.
- A clear brook babbled pleasantly over the stones.

## Derived Forms
- babblative
- babble-word
- babbledom
- babblemouth
- babbler
- babblesome
- babbly
- babeldom
- bibble-babble
- cryptobabble
- cyberbabble
- ecobabble

## Related Forms
- babblement
- babblery

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: babelen
- Root: *bæblian
- Root: *bablōn
- Root: *babalōną
- Root: *bʰa-bʰa-
- Root: *baba-

## 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 bab…

## AI Etymology
Babble is 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 bab… Important recorded forms include babelen (Middle English), *bæblian (Old English), *bablōn (Proto-West Germanic), *babalōną (Proto-Germanic), *bʰa-bʰa- (Proto-Indo-European), and *baba- (Proto-Indo-European). Current senses include to talk quickly in a confused or foolish way that is hard to follow and to make a gentle, continuous bubbling sound, like a small stream.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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