English
confab
Confab comes from Latin cōnfābulor ‘to converse’, from Proto-Italic *fāōr ‘to speak’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂ti‘to speak, to be talking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāōr‘to speak’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfor
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfābula‘narrative, conversation’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfābulor‘to chat, converse, talk’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfābuloras cōnfābulārī‘to converse’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconfābulātiōnem
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500confabulacion‘conversation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1761confab
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂ti‘to speak, to be talking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāōr‘to speak’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfor
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfābula‘narrative, conversation’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfābulor‘to chat, converse, talk’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfābuloras cōnfābulārī‘to converse’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEconfābulātiōnem
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500confabulacion‘conversation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1761confab
Earliest quotation: 1761, Joseph Reed, The Register-office: A Farce of Two Acts. […]: “But, Sir, as I am in haſte, we had…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
phone, focus, professor, fuel, ben, phase, famous, ban, favourite, favor, fantasy, photographer, emphasis, bee, fancy, fate, fame, profession, phenomenon, fatal, fairy, phantom, beck, abandon, symphony, infant, confession, bane, beacon, confess, epiphany, boon, foyer, banish, buoy, fay, profess, bene, banal, nefarious, 121 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰéh₂ti ‘to speak, to be talking’
through Latin for
eff, affable, ineffable, 11 more
through Latin fābula ‘narrative, conversation’
Another origin of confab
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéh₂ti‘to speak, to be talking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*fāōr‘to speak’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfor
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfābula‘narrative, conversation’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfābulor‘to chat, converse, talk’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfābuloras cōnfābulārī‘to converse’
- Englishtodayconfab
Clipping of confabulate, from Latin cōnfābulārī + English -ate (suffix forming verbs with the sense of acting in the specified manner). Cōnfābulārī is the present active infinitive of cōnfābulor (‘to converse; to discuss’), from con- (prefix indicating a bringing together) + fābulor (‘to chat, converse, talk; to make up a story’) (from fābula (‘discourse, narrative; fable, story’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (‘to say, speak’)) + for (‘to say, speak, talk’)).
Today it means
noun —
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / confab