Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “babelen” come from?

babelen (Middle English) comes from Old English bæblian, from Old English wæflian, from Proto-Germanic bablōną, from Proto-Germanic babalōną, from Proto-Indo-European bʰa-bʰa-, from Proto-Indo-European bʰā- — to say.

Ancestry of “babelen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishbæblian—
2Old Englishwæflianto talk or speak foolishly
3Proto-Germanicbablōną—
4Proto-Germanicbabalōnąto chatter, babble
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰa-bʰa-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰā-to say

Words derived from “babelen”

  • babbling
  • babble
  • babbler
  • psychobabble
  • babblement
  • technobabble
  • babblingly
  • babbleth
  • babbly
  • psychobabbling
  • psychobabbler
  • Eurobabble
  • cyberbabble
  • sociobabble
  • outbabble
  • bizbabble
  • bibble-babble
  • econobabble
  • niggerbabble
  • ecobabble
  • babblesome
  • babblery
  • neurobabble
  • astrobabble
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰā- →