Talking a lot and enthusiastically, often without stopping or taking breaks.
From 'gab' meaning to talk idly, which comes from Old Norse 'gabb' (mockery). The -y suffix added around the 1890s to mean 'characterized by gabbing.'
The word 'gabby' became wildly popular during the 1930s radio era when announcers and personalities started being described this way—it perfectly captured the non-stop chatter of early broadcasting!
Historically applied to women as pejorative for talkativeness; 'gossip' and 'chatterbox' have strong feminine-coded judgment. Men described as 'talkative' or 'outspoken' more neutrally.
Use 'talkative,' 'verbose,' or 'communicative' to avoid gendered judgment. Recognize that societal devaluation of women's speech influenced this word's tone.
["talkative","verbose","communicative","articulate"]
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