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Webster 1913 Edition

Babble

Bab′ble

(băb′b’l)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Babbled
(băb′b’ld)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Babbling
.]
[Cf. LG.
babbeln
, D.
babbelen
, G.
bappeln
,
bappern
, F.
babiller
, It.
babbolare
; prob. orig., to keep saying
ba
, imitative of a child learning to talk.]
1.
To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds; as a child babbles.
2.
To talk incoherently; to utter unmeaning words.
3.
To talk much; to chatter; to prate.
4.
To make a continuous murmuring noise, as shallow water running over stones.
In every
babbling
brook he finds a friend.
Wordsworth.
☞ Hounds are said to babble, or to be babbling, when they are too noisy after having found a good scent.
Syn. – To prate; prattle; chatter; gossip.

Bab′ble

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To utter in an indistinct or incoherent way; to repeat, as words, in a childish way without understanding.
These [words] he used to
babble
in all companies.
Arbuthnot.
2.
To disclose by too free talk, as a secret.

Bab′ble

,
Noun.
1.
Idle talk; senseless prattle; gabble; twaddle.
“This is mere moral babble.”
Milton.
2.
Inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur.
The
babble
of our young children.
Darwin.
The
babble
of the stream.
Tennyson.

Webster 1828 Edition

Babble

BAB'BLE

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To utter words imperfectly or indistinctly, as children.
2.
To talk idly or irrationally; to talk thoughtlessly.
3.
To talk much; to prate; hence to tell secrets.
4.
To utter sounds frequently, incessantly, or indistinctly; as a babbling echo; a babbling stream.

BAB'BLE

,
Verb.
T.
To prate; to utter.

BAB'BLE

,
Noun.
Idle talk; senseless prattle.
1

Definition 2024

babble

babble

English

Noun

babble ‎(uncountable)

  1. Idle talk; senseless prattle; gabble; twaddle.
    • 1634, John Milton, Comus, a Mask, line 823:
    • "This is mere moral babble."
  2. Inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur.
    • The babble of our young children. - Darwin.
  3. A sound like that of water gently flowing around obstructions.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:chatter

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Verb

babble ‎(third-person singular simple present babbles, present participle babbling, simple past and past participle babbled)

  1. (intransitive) To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds
    The men were babbling, so we couldn't make sense of anything.
  2. (intransitive) To talk incoherently; to utter meaningless words.
  3. (intransitive) To talk too much; to chatter; to prattle.
  4. (intransitive) To make a continuous murmuring noise, like shallow water running over stones.
    Hounds are said to babble, or to be babbling, when they are too noisy after having found a good scent.
  5. (transitive) To utter in an indistinct or incoherent way; to repeat words or sounds in a childish way without understanding.
  6. (transitive) To reveal; to give away (a secret).

Translations

References

  • babble in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

German

Verb

babble

  1. First-person singular present of babbeln.
  2. First-person singular subjunctive I of babbeln.
  3. Third-person singular subjunctive I of babbeln.
  4. Imperative singular of babbeln.

Etymology

From Middle English babelen, from Old English *bæblian, also wæflian ‎(“to talk foolishly”), from Proto-Germanic *babalōną ‎(“to chatter”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰa-bʰa-, *baba- ‎(“to talk vaguely, mumble”). Cognate with Old Frisian babbelje ‎(“to babble”), Old Norse babbla ‎(“to babble”) (Swedish babbla), Middle Low German babbelen ‎(“to babble”), Dutch babbelen ‎(“to babble”), German pappeln and babbeln ‎(“to babble”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbæb.l̩/
  • Rhymes: -æbəl

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