Talking quickly and continuously without making much sense, or making repeated sounds like a baby learning to speak.
From Middle English 'babelen,' likely an onomatopoeia imitating the sounds of confused speech. The word may be related to 'bab' or 'babble,' which imitate stuttering or rapid speech sounds. It's been used since medieval times to describe unclear or rambling speech.
Babies actually babble in every language at first, making all the sounds humans can produce—but around 6 months, they start specializing in their native language's sounds and lose the ability to make others! The word 'babbling' captures this beautiful stage before meaning arrives.
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