English
gabble
Gabble comes from Old English gabban ‘to scoff, mock, jest’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- ‘to gape, be wide open’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰeh₂-‘to gape, be wide open’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gabbōną‘to joke, to mock’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gabbōn‘to joke, mock’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150gabban‘to scoff, mock, jest’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gabben
- English1500–presentgab
- Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611gabble
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰeh₂-‘to gape, be wide open’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gabbōną‘to joke, to mock’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*gabbōn‘to joke, mock’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150gabban‘to scoff, mock, jest’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500gabben
- English1500–presentgab
- Englishearliest quotation 1610–1611gabble
Earliest quotation: 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest: “I pitied thee, took pains to make thee speak,…”
A compound of gab + -le
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- ‘to gape, be wide open’
Proto-Germanic *gabbōną ‘to joke, to mock’
Old Norse gabb ‘jest, mockery’
Middle English gab
English gab
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- ‘to gape, be wide open’
goal, gas, chaos, gap, gum, chaotic, gill, hiatus, gape, 9 more
through Middle English gabben
Today it means
verb To talk fast, idly, foolishly, or without meaning.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- / gabble