labern
German
Etymology
An originally Central and Low German verb, from Middle Low German labbern (“to drink like a dog; to slurp”). Related to laff (“slack”, here of the tongue).
Pronunciation
Verb
- (obsolete, except possibly regionally) to slurp; to drink noisily
- (informal) to talk or speak unnecessarily lengthily; to talk idly; to engage in unsubstantiated talk; to babble
- Als guter Politiker hat unser Bürgermeister auf der Bühne so lange gelabert, dass die Verspätung des Orchesters gar nicht auffiel.
- Being a good politician, our mayor extended his speech on stage so much that the delayed appearance of the orchestra went unnoticed.
- Wenn der Peter mal gute Laune hat, hört er den ganzen Abend nicht auf zu labern.
- When Peter is in a good mood for once, he won’t stop babbling for the rest of the night.
- Als guter Politiker hat unser Bürgermeister auf der Bühne so lange gelabert, dass die Verspätung des Orchesters gar nicht auffiel.
- (colloquial) to chat; to talk among each other (usually about light topics); the verb retains a certain nuance, but becomes rather neutral
- Und? Was habt ihr gemacht? — Och, nur Kaffee getrunken und schön mal gelabert.
- So? What did you guys do? — Oh, we just drank coffee and had a nice chat.
- Und? Was habt ihr gemacht? — Och, nur Kaffee getrunken und schön mal gelabert.