sob

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To cry loudly with short, sharp breaths.

   She sobbed quietly into her pillow all night.

2. 2
   noun

   A short, sharp gasp made while crying.

   He told the story between sobs.

From Middle English sobben, perhaps from Middle Low German sabben (“to drool, slobber, salivate”). Cognate with West Frisian sabje, sobje (“to suck”), Dutch zabben, sabbelen (“to suck”), zabberen (“to drool”), German Low German sabbeln, severn (“to drool”), German sabbern (“to drool, slobber”), Norwegian sabbe (“to spill, drop, make a mess”). Compare also Old English sēofian (“to lament”), German saufen (“to drink, swig”).

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