Crossword clues for babble
babble
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Babble \Bab"ble\, v. t.
-
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. To disclose by too free talk, as a secret.
Babble \Bab"ble\ (b[a^]b"b'l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Babbled (b[a^]b"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.]
To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds; as a child babbles.
To talk incoherently; to utter unmeaning words.
To talk much; to chatter; to prate.
-
To make a continuous murmuring noise, as shallow water running over stones.
In every babbling brook he finds a friend.
--Wordsworth.Note: 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.
Babble \Bab"ble\, n.
Idle talk; senseless prattle; gabble; twaddle. ``This is mere moral babble.''
--Milton.-
Inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur.
The babble of our young children.
--Darwin.The babble of the stream.
--Tennyson.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
mid-13c., babeln "to prattle, chatter," akin to other Western European words for stammering and prattling (cognates: Swedish babbla, Old French babillier) attested from the same era, some of which probably were borrowed from others, but etymologists cannot now determine which were original. Probably imitative of baby-talk, in any case (compare Latin babulus "babbler," Greek barbaros "non-Greek-speaking"). "No direct connexion with Babel can be traced; though association with that may have affected the senses" [OED]. Meaning "to repeat oneself incoherently, speak foolishly" is attested from c.1400. Related: Babbled; babbler; babbling; babblement.
"idle talk," c.1500, from babble (v.). In 16c., commonly in reduplicated form bibble-babble.
Wiktionary
n. 1 idle talk; senseless prattle; gabble; twaddle. 2 inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur. 3 A sound like that of water gently flowing around obstructions. vb. 1 (context intransitive English) To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds; as, a child ''babbles''. 2 (context intransitive English) To talk incoherently; to utter unmeaning words. 3 (context intransitive English) To talk much; to chatter; to prate. 4 (context intransitive English) To make a continuous murmuring noise, as shallow water running over stones. 5 (context transitive English) To utter in an indistinct or incoherent way; to repeat, as words, in a childish way without understanding. 6 (context transitive English) To disclose by too free talk, as a secret.
WordNet
v: utter meaningless sounds, like a baby, or utter in an incoherent way; "The old man is only babbling--don't pay attention"
to talk foolishly; "The two women babbled and crooned at the baby" [syn: blather, smatter, blether, blither]
flow in an irregular current with a bubbling noise; "babbling brooks" [syn: ripple, guggle, burble, bubble, gurgle]
divulge confidential information or secrets; "Be careful--his secretary talks" [syn: spill the beans, let the cat out of the bag, talk, tattle, blab, peach, sing, babble out, blab out] [ant: keep quiet]
Wikipedia
Babble is the second album by Irish alternative rockers That Petrol Emotion, released in 1987. The album was re-released in 2001 with additional tracks. It was the band's only proper chart success, due to being their first and only top 40 entry at #30.
Babble may refer to:
- Babble (That Petrol Emotion album), 1987 album by That Petrol Emotion
- Babble (Coyne & Krause album), 1979 album by Kevin Coyne And Dagmar Krause
- Babble (band), a later incarnation of the Thompson Twins
- Babble (company), a British internet telephony service
- Babble (TV series), a British game show hosted by Peter Purves 1982-85
- Babbling, a stage in child language acquisition
- Babble.com, online magazine
Babble is a British game show produced by LWT and broadcast on Channel 4 between 1982 and 1985. The programme was hosted by Peter Purves.
Babble was an electronic dance music group that featured Tom Bailey and Alannah Currie (formerly of the Thompson Twins), with Keith Fernley. The Thompson Twins changed its name during the time the duo changed the outward appearance of its sound from pop to dub-influenced chill-out.
Babble is a British internet telephony service. It was one of the first commercialisations of VoIP technology, appearing in 2004 approximately 6 months after the proprietary Skype opened up interest in telephony over the internet. Operating out of offices in London Docklands, west London and Hertfordshire, Babble is a SIP-based service with interconnections to the ordinary telephone network permitting inbound and outbound calls from its network.
Babble was re-launched in 2006 by Allan Howes and Simon Lewis who bought out the service from its parent and floated on the London Stock Exchange (Ofex: BABO).
Usage examples of "babble".
Children who at the babbling stage are not exposed to the sounds of actual speech may not develop the ability to speak later, or do so to an abnormally limited extent.
Farleyfile system would break down if I attempted to mix with crowds, not to mention the unknown hazards of the Actionist goon squads--what I would babble with a minim dose of neodexocaine in the forebrain none of us liked to think about, me least of all.
Farleyfile system would break down if I attempted to mix with crowds, not to mention the unknown hazards of the Actionist goon squads-what I would babble with a minim dose of neodexocaine in the forebrain none of us liked to think about, me least of all.
Neither Gaar nor I liked that comment, but we kept silent while Arem babbled on about what a great fighter Gaar was, and how he should join the Army.
Merely explaining it took the better part of the morning, accomplished in a babble of tongues, with the zenyan argot pervading.
True to its name, the sluggish, mud-brown Blabbermouth babbled loudly and unceasingly, allowing no one to be heard above it without effort.
As the Princess lifted the lid of her white piano in the ring while Mignon flounced her lacy skirts, Buffo, babbling obscenities, was loaded into a waiting cab, leaving the circus for the last time, as he had never done before, in the way that gentlemen did, by the front entrance.
Those bullets brought back futile answers, despite the angry cackle of Li Hoang, and the babbled shouts of Chun Laro.
Straight on towards us came the toiling ship, the dip of oars resonant in the hollow fog and a ripple babbling on her cutwater plainly discernible.
Langdon moved off to continue his inspection, the babbling docent followed like a love-starved puppy.
As Langdon moved off to continue his inspection, the babbling docent followed like a love-starved puppy.
Terilla, Cleiti and Gaber were unceremoniously herded into the shuttle, the cartographer babbling something about how this was not the way matters should proceed and how dared they treat him with such disrespect.
I had the whole thing dug into when Geer came babbling to us with the yarn.
Halfway snickered on bourbon and beer, dressed in a House nightie with a wig to make me look like a gomer, I lay on the bottom bunk while the Runt babbled about pubescence and hooked me up to a cardiac monitor.
Baa Hef babbled incoherently about what he referred to as the table devil, and seemed to believe that he had done something heroic by killing the spirit called Trudy.