Etymology
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blubber (n.)

late 14c., blober "a bubble, bubbling water; foaming waves," probably echoic of bubbling water. The original notion of "bubbling, foaming" survives in the figurative verbal meaning "to weep, cry" (c. 1400). The meaning "whale fat" is attested from 1660s; earlier it was used in reference to jellyfish (c. 1600) and of whale oil (mid-15c.). Compare bubble.

blubber (v.)

"to cry, to overflow with weeping" (usually disparaging), c. 1400, from blubber (n.). In Middle English also "to seethe, bubble" (late 14c.). Related: Blubbered; blubbering.

Entries linking to blubber

bubble (n.)

"small vesicle of water or some other fluid inflated with air or gas," early 14c., perhaps from Middle Dutch bobbel (n.) and/or Middle Low German bubbeln (v.), all probably of echoic origin. Figurative use in reference to anything wanting firmness, substance, or permanence is from 1590s. Specifically in reference to inflated markets or financial schemes originally in South Sea Bubble, which originated c. 1711 and collapsed 1720. Bubble-bath recorded by 1937. Bubble-shell is from 1847.

blubber-lip (n.)

"a thick lip," 1660s, from blubber (n.) + lip (n.). Related: Blubber-lipped.

updated on October 17, 2022

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Dictionary entries near blubber

blow-pipe

blow-torch

blowzy

BLT

blub

blubber

blubbering

blubber-lip

blubbery

bluchers

bludge

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