Gabble
/ˈɡæb.əl/noun
To talk rapidly and indistinctly, or a rapid, indistinct chatter.
Did you know?Gabble is a sound-symbolic word first recorded in the 16th century, and it likely arose from the same expressive family as words for noisy, rapid speech rather than from any single ancient “root.”
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
English
gabble
“to chatter rapidly or talk foolishly”
Middle English
English
gabben
“to talk idly, boast, or chatter”
Old Norse
ON
gabba
“to mock or taunt”
Germanic
PGmc
*gabōną / *gabbaną
“to mock, deceive, or chatter (reconstructed expressive forms)”
Modern English
English
gabble
“rapid, indistinct speech”