A person who talks excessively or continuously. Someone who engages in constant, often trivial conversation.
Compound word from 'chatter' (imitative of rapid talk, from Middle English) + 'box' (container). The metaphor suggests someone who contains and dispenses endless talk, first recorded in the 1770s.
The term 'chatterbox' was originally used to describe actual mechanical toys that made chattering sounds when wound up, before being applied to talkative people. Some cultures view talkativeness very differently - what's considered 'chatterbox' behavior in one society might be seen as warmly social in another.
The diminutive '-box' suffix and association with excessive, feminized talk coded this as a derisive term for talkative women, particularly in early 20th-century usage.
Use 'talkative' or 'conversational' to describe communication without gendered judgment.
["talkative","conversational","verbose"]
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