blather
English
Etymology 1
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old Norse blaðra (“to speak inarticulately, talk nonsense”). Cognate with German dialectal bladdern (“to talk nonsense, blather”).
Alternative forms
- blether (Northern England, Scotland, Northern Ireland)
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /blæðə(ɹ)/
- Rhymes: -æðə(r)
Verb
blather (third-person singular simple present blathers, present participle blathering, simple past and past participle blathered)
- (intransitive, derogatory) To talk rapidly without making much sense.
- 1866, George Eliot, Felix Holt, the Radical, Edinburgh: William Blackwood, Volume 1, Chapter 11, p. 249,[1]
- “There you go blatherin’,” said Brindle, intending a mild rebuke.
- 1914, James Joyce, “Grace” in Dubliners, London: Grant Richards, p. 210,[2]
- It was at the unveiling of Sir John Gray’s statue. Edmund Dwyer Gray was speaking, blathering away, and here was this old fellow, crabbed-looking old chap, looking at him from under his bushy eyebrows.
- 2001, Richard Flanagan, Gould’s Book of Fish, New York: Grove Atlantic, 2014, “The Pot-Bellied Seahorse,” section 5,[3]
- On and on he blathered, taking refuge in the one thing he felt lent him superiority: words.
- 1866, George Eliot, Felix Holt, the Radical, Edinburgh: William Blackwood, Volume 1, Chapter 11, p. 249,[1]
- (transitive, derogatory) To say (something foolish or nonsensical); to say (something) in a foolish or overly verbose way.
- 1929, Eugene O’Neill, Dynamo, New York: Liveright, Act 1, Scene 1, p. 31,[4]
- Then, just before the wedding, the old man feels he’s honor bound to tell his future son-in-law the secret of his past; so the damned idiot blathers the whole story of his killing the man and breaking jail!
- 1974, Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, New York: William Morrow, Part 3, Chapter 18, p. 214,[5]
- […] the church attitude has never been that a teacher should be allowed to blather anything that comes into his head without any accountability at all.
- 1929, Eugene O’Neill, Dynamo, New York: Liveright, Act 1, Scene 1, p. 31,[4]
Derived terms
Translations
to talk rapidly without making much sense
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Noun
blather (uncountable)
- (derogatory) Nonsensical or foolish talk.
- 1897, G. A. Henty, With Moore at Corunna, New York: Scribner, Chapter 1, p. 16,[6]
- That is the worst of being in an Irish regiment, nothing can be done widout ever so much blather;
- 1922, Rafael Sabatini, Captain Blood, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, Chapter 23, p. 265,[7]
- Will you cease your blather of mutiny and treason and courts-martial?
- 1995, Rohinton Mistry, A Fine Balance, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, Part 5, p. 280,[8]
- With years of proofreading under my belt, I knew exactly the blather and bluster favoured by professional politicians.
- 1897, G. A. Henty, With Moore at Corunna, New York: Scribner, Chapter 1, p. 16,[6]
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:chatter
Translations
nonsensical or foolish talk
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Etymology 2
- Obsolete form of bladder.
- 1596, Charles Fitzgeoffrey, Sir Francis Drake His Honorable Lifes Commendation, and His Tragicall Deathes Lamentation, Oxford: Joseph Barnes,[9]
Anagrams
Categories:
- English terms derived from Old Norse
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/æðə(r)
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English derogatory terms
- English transitive verbs
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English obsolete forms
- English reporting verbs
- en:Talking