Etymologically
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bubble

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:18. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbʌbəl/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English bobel, perhaps from Middle Dutch bobbel and Middle Low German bubbeln, to bubble,[2][3] all probably imitative.[3][4][5] NODE and SOED take it as partly imitative and partly an alteration of burble.[6][7][4] Word Origins groups it with other words imitating bubbling sounds, such as blubber.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A small globe of liquid filled with air or gas: about 1325 in Barnhart, the early 14th century in Etymonline, 1481 in the OED.[2][3][9]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to form bubbles, is from about 1440, the late 15th century in Etymonline.[2][3] Figuratively, anything fragile or unsubstantial is from the 1590s.[3][9] Of inflated markets or financial schemes it comes from the South Sea Bubble, which began about 1711 and collapsed in 1720.[3] A transparent dome over an aircraft cockpit is from 1945,[9] and bubble bath is recorded by 1937.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1325 – a bubble.[2]
  • c. 1440 – to bubble (verb).[2]
  • 1590s – something unsubstantial.[3]
  • 1711 – the South Sea Bubble.[3]
  • 1937 – bubble bath.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A thin sphere of liquid enclosing air or gas, or a small ball of gas in a liquid.
  2. Something insubstantial or short-lived.
  3. (economics) A situation in which prices rise far above real value before falling sharply.
  4. A protected or isolated situation or group.

Verb

  1. To form or produce bubbles; to boil.
  2. To be full of a lively feeling: bubbling with excitement.

Word family

  • bubbleless
  • bubblelike
  • bubblingly
  • abubble
  • bubblegum
  • bubblehead
  • bubbler
  • bubbletop
  • bubbly
  • burble
  • blubber
  • bobble

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press