Where does “chatterbox” come from?
chatterbox (English) comes from English box, from French boxer, from French -er, from English -er, from Middle English -er, from Old French -er, from Latin -āre, from Proto-Italic -āō — he, she.
chatterbox (English): One who chats or talks to excess; A cootie...
Definitions
- One who chats or talks to excess; A cootie...
Ancestry of “chatterbox”, step by step
chatterbox traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English box
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | box | Senses relating to a three-dimensional object or... |
| 2 | French | boxer | boxer; boxer shorts, boxers; to box |
| 3 | French | -er | Forms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs |
| 4 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 5 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 6 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 7 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 12 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via English chatter
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | chatter | Talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk;... |
| 2 | English | chat | To be engaged in informal conversation; To talk... |
| 3 | English | chaat | any savory snack, sold from a roadside stall in... |
| 4 | Hindi | चाट | chaat |
| 5 | Hindi | चाटना | to lick; to eat with appetite |
| 6 | Maharastri Prakrit | 𑀘𑀝𑁆𑀝𑁂𑀇 | to lick |