Sob
/sɒb/noun
To cry with short, convulsive breaths, often noisily.
Did you know?Unlike words with dramatic ‘dark’ roots, English sob is a plain Old English sound-word, which makes it eerily powerful: the language didn’t invent the feeling, it only learned to name the breathy break in it.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
sobbian
“to sob, cry aloud”
Middle English
ME
sobben
“to sob, weep audibly”
15th Century
English
sob
“a short, convulsive cry in weeping”
Modern English
English
sob
“to cry with noisy, broken breaths”