blubber

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to cry or whine with snuffling

   I blubbered to them about losing my job.

2. 2
   verb

   to utter while crying

   I couldn't help but blubber "I love you" before we kissed.

3. 3
   verb

   Often followed by out: to cry out (words) while sobbing.

   Here Bliſil ſighed bitterly; upon vvhich VVeſtern, vvhoſe Eyes vvere full of Tears at the praiſe of Sophia, blubbered out, 'Don't be Chicken-hearted, for ſhat ha her, d—n me, ſhat ha her, if ſhe vvas tvventy Times as good.'

4. 4
   verb

   To wet (one's eyes or face) by crying; to beweep; also, to cause (one's face) to disfigure or swell through crying.

   Her ſvvollen eyes vvere much diſfigured, / And her faire face vvith teares vvas fovvly blubbered.

5. 5
   verb

   Often followed by forth: to let (one's tears) flow freely.

   Looke on this tree, vvhich blubbereth Amber gum / vvhich ſeemes to ſpeak to thee, though it be dumb, / VVhich being ſenceles blocks, as thou do'ſt ſee, / VVeepe at my vvoes, that thou might'ſt pitty mee: […]

6. 6
   verb

   To cry or weep freely and noisily; to sob.

   What weepe? fye for ſhame, and blubber? for manhods ſake, / Neuer lette your foe ſo muche pleaſure of you take.

7. 7
   noun

   A fatty layer of adipose tissue found immediately beneath the epidermis of whales and other cetaceans (infraorder Cetacea).

   Though their [the hyena whale or pilot whale's] blubber is very thin, some of these whales will yield you upwards of thirty gallons of oil.

8. 8
   noun

   An act of crying or weeping freely and noisily.

   Fassmann gives dolorous clippings from the Leyden Gazette, all in a blubber of tears, according to the then fashion, but full of impertinent curiosity withal.

Etymology

The verb is derived from Late Middle English bloberen, bluberen (“to bubble, seethe”); and the noun from Late Middle English blober, bluber (“bubble; bubbling water; foaming waves; fish or whale oil; entrails, intestines; (medicine) pustule”), both probably onomatopoeic, representing the movement or sound of a bubbling liquid, or the movement of lips forming bubbles (compare bleb and blob, thought to be similarly imitative). As both the verb and noun are attested in the 14th century, it is difficult to tell which one developed first; the Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the noun may be…