Confabulate
/kənˈfæb.jʊ.leɪt/noun
To talk informally or engage in conversation; in psychology, to unconsciously produce fabricated memories.
Did you know?Confabulate comes from Latin confabulari, literally “to talk together,” built from fabula (“story, tale”) — the same root behind fable, fabulous, and even fabricate.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bha-
“to speak, tell, say”
Latin
Latin
fabula
“a story, tale, or narrative”
Latin
Latin
confabulari
“to converse together, chat”
Late Latin
Latin
confabulatus
“talked together; conversed”
16th Century
English
confabulate
“to converse or chat informally”
20th Century
English
confabulate
“to unconsciously invent details or memories”