subs. (old colloquial).—Chatter; incoherent or inarticulate and unintelligible speech (as a foreign language heard by one ignorant of it). See verb.
1706. WARD, Hudibras Redivivus, I., v. 5. And stopp’d their bold presumptuous labour, By unintelligible JABBER.
1726. SWIFT, Gulliver’s Travels, ‘Gulliver, to his cousin Sympson.’ They use a sort of JABBER and do not go naked.
1827. JOHNSON, English Dictionary [Todd], s.v. JABBER, garrulity…. Bishop Fleetwood somewhere uses the word in his works; and it is still a colloquial term.
1854. Our Cruise in the Undine, p. 35. The JABBER began … and almost distracted us.
1879. PAYN, High Spirits (Aunt by Marriage). When one considers the packing, and the crossing the Channel, and the JABBER upon the other side of it, which not one in ten of us understands and the tenth only imperfectly.
1888. BOLDREWOOD, Robbery under Arms, viii. Is it French or Queensland blacks’ JABBER?
Verb. (old: now recognised).—See quots.
1543. BALE, Yet a Course at the Romyshe Foxe, fol. 43, b. Sensynge, latyne JABBERYNGE.
c. 1696. B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew, s.v. JABBER, to Talk thick and fast, as great Praters do, or to Chatter, like a Magpye.
1716. ADDISON, The Free-holder, No. 22, 5 March. He told me, he did not know what Travelling was good for, but to teach a Man to ride the Great Horse, to JABBER French, and to talk against Passive-Obedience.
1725. A New Canting Dictionary, s.v. JABBER.
1728. POPE, The Dunciad, ii. 237. ’Twas chatt’ring, grinning, mouthing, JABB’RING all.
1728. SWIFT, A Dialogue between Mad Mullinix and Timothy.
| We scorn, for want of talk, to JABBER | |
| Of parties. |
1785. GROSE, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, s.v. JABBER. … also to speak a foreign language; he JABBERED to me in his damned outlandish parlez-vous.
1853. THACKERAY, Barry Lyndon, vi., p. 82. A couple more of the same nation were JABBERING oaths and chattering incessantly.
1859. G. W. MATSELL, Vocabulum; or, The Rogue’s Lexicon, s.v. JABBER. To talk in an unknown language.
1884. W. C. RUSSELL, Jack’s Courtship, xvii. We sallied forth arm in arm, he JABBERING incessantly.
1888. Daily Chronicle, 19 Oct. The woman said that he was a perfect stranger to her, and … JABBERED something she did not understand.
