babbling

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English bablyng, babelynge, equivalent to babble +‎ -ing.

Noun

babbling (countable and uncountable, plural babblings)

1. (uncountable) a stage in child language acquisition, during which an infant appears to be experimenting with uttering sounds of language, but not yet producing any recognizable words
2. (countable, uncountable) sounds produced by infant during the babbling period
3. (countable, uncountable) Idle senseless talk; prattle.
4. (countable, uncountable) A confused murmur, as of a stream.

Translations

a stage in child language acquisition

• Finnish: jokeltelu

sounds produced by infant during the babbling period

• Finnish: jokellus (fi), jokeltelu
• French: balbutiement (fr) m
• Spanish: balbuceo (es) m
• Swedish: joller (sv) n

Etymology 2

From Middle English bablyng, babelynge, babelinde, equivalent to babble +‎ -ing.

Adjective

babbling (comparative more babbling, superlative most babbling)

1. That babbles.

Derived terms

• babblingly

 

Verb

babbling

1. present participle and gerund of babble

Anagrams

• blabbing