babbling
Variant of babble
bab·ble (bab′əl)
intransitive verb babbled -·bled, babbling -·bling
- to make incoherent sounds, as a baby does; prattle
- to talk foolishly or too much; blab
- to make a low, bubbling sound, as a brook does when flowing over stones
Etymology: ME bablen; akin to Norw bable, Swed babbla, Ger babbeln, to prattle, L balbutire, to stammer, Sans balbuthah, stammerer: of echoic orig.
transitive verb
- to say indistinctly or incoherently
- to say foolishly or unadvisedly; blab
noun
- confused, incoherent talk or vocal sounds
- foolish or meaningless talk
- a low, bubbling sound
Related Forms:
- babbler bab′·bler noun
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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