I. ˈbabəl verb
( babbled ; babbled ; babbling -b(ə)liŋ ; babbles )
Etymology: Middle English babelen; probably of imitative origin like Middle English babe, babie baby, Low German babbeln to babble, Old Norse babba, Latin babulus babbler, Greek barbaros foreign, Late Greek babazein to speak inarticulately, Sanskrit balbalā stammering sound, barbara stammering
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to utter meaningless sounds as though talking
a baby babbling in his crib
b. : to talk foolishly : prattle
babble about his responsibilities
c. : to talk excessively : chatter
babbling about their plans for the coming holidays — Mabel C. Widdemer
2.
a. : to make sounds as though babbling
the babbling of a mountain stream
birds babbling in the hedge
b. of a hound : to bay before picking up the scent
transitive verb
1. : to utter in an incoherent, inane, or meaninglessly repetitious manner
why did the red-haired man babble those excuses — Max Beerbohm
2. : to reveal (as a secret) by talking too freely or thoughtlessly
before we could stop him he had babbled our plans to the group
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English bable, from babelen
1. : foolish or idle talk : chatter , nonsense
making babble at an afternoon tea
2. : continuous meaningless vocal sounds
the babble of a baby in the next room
: a murmur or a continuity of confused sounds
the babble of four or more voices going on at once — G.A.Miller
the babble of birds
specifically : the unwanted disturbing sounds in a telephone circuit resulting from cross-talk interference from a large number of other active circuits