different between babble vs garble

English

Etymology

From Middle English babelen, from Old English *bæblian, also wæflian (“to talk foolishly”), from Proto-Germanic *babal?n? (“to chatter”), from Proto-Indo-European *b?a-b?a-, perhaps a reduplication of Proto-Indo-European *b?eh?- (“to say”), or a variant of Proto-Indo-European *baba- (“to talk vaguely, mumble”), or a merger of the two, possibly ultimately onomatopoetic/mimicry of infantile sounds. Cognate with Old Frisian babbelje (“to babble”), Old Norse babbla (“to babble”) (Swedish babbla), Middle Low German babbelen (“to babble”), Dutch babbelen (“to babble, chat”), German pappeln and babbeln (“to babble”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?bæb.l?/
• Rhymes: -æb?l

Verb

babble (third-person singular simple present babbles, present participle babbling, simple past and past participle babbled)

1. (intransitive) To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds

2. (intransitive) To talk incoherently; to utter meaningless words.
3. (intransitive) To talk too much; to chatter; to prattle.
4. (intransitive) To make a continuous murmuring noise, like shallow water running over stones.
   • 1815, William Wordsworth, Extracts from Descriptive Sketches

     In every babbling brook he finds a friend.

5. (transitive) To utter in an indistinct or incoherent way; to repeat words or sounds in a childish way without understanding.
   • 1712, John Arbuthnot, The History of John Bull

     These [words] he used to babble indifferently in all companies.

6. (transitive) To reveal; to give away (a secret).

Translations

Noun

babble (usually uncountable, plural babbles)

1. Idle talk; senseless prattle

   Synonyms: gabble, twaddle

   • 1634, John Milton, Comus, a Mask, line 823:

     This is mere moral babble.

2. Inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur.
   • 1871, Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex

     The babble of our young children.

3. A sound like that of water gently flowing around obstructions.
   • ?, Alfred Tennyson, Mariana

     The babble of the stream.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:chatter

Hyponyms

Translations

See also

• babblement
• babblery

References

• babble in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

German

Verb

babble

1. inflection of babbeln:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. first/third-person singular subjunctive I
   3. singular imperative

English

Etymology

From Middle English garbelen, from Anglo-Norman garbeler (“to sift”), from Medieval Latin garbellare (or a similar Italian word), from Arabic ????????? (?arbala, “to sift”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /????(?)b?l/
• Rhymes: -??(?)b?l

Verb

garble (third-person singular simple present garbles, present participle garbling, simple past and past participle garbled)

1. To pick out such parts (of a text) as may serve a purpose; to mutilate; to pervert
2. To make false by mutilation or addition [from 17th c.]

3. (obsolete) To sift or bolt, to separate the fine or valuable parts of from the coarse and useless parts, or from dross or dirt [14th–19th c.]

Derived terms

• garbley gook

Translations

Noun

garble (countable and uncountable, plural garbles)

1. Confused or unintelligible speech.
   • 1976, Boating (volume 40, numbers 1-2, page 152)

     The FCC says it decided to attempt standardization of VHF receivers after getting "thousands of complaints" from disgruntled boatmen who found their sets brought in mostly a lot of garble and static.

2. (obsolete) Refuse; rubbish.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wolcott to this entry?)

3. (obsolete) Impurities separated from spices, drugs, etc.; garblings.

Further reading

• garble in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• garble in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Gabler, Grable, garbel