English
sob
Sob comes from Middle English sobben ‘to sob or weep’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sobben‘to sob or weep’
- Englishearliest quotation 1697sob
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sobben‘to sob or weep’
- Englishearliest quotation 1697sob
Earliest quotation: 1697, Virgil, Pastoral 5: “She sigh'd, she sobb'd, and, furious with despair, /…”
Every English word from Middle English sobben
Today it means
noun A cry with a short, sudden expulsion of breath.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English sobben / sob