Beblubber

/bɪˈblʌbə/ verb

Definition

To cover with blubber (whale fat) or to make blubbery; to cry and wail copiously.

Etymology

From 'be-' plus 'blubber,' which comes from Dutch 'blabber' (foam or froth). Originally meant whale fat, then came to mean excessive weeping, as lips become blubber-like when crying.

Kelly Says

This word traveled from the ocean (whale fat) to human emotion, and that journey reveals how 16th-century people saw tears and emotion—as excessive, foam-like, almost disgusting in their abundance.

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