garrulous

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɡæɹ.ʊ.ləs/, /ˈɡæɹ.jʊ.ləs/ (UK); /ˈɡɛɹ.ə.ləs/, /ˈɡɛɹ.jə.ləs/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin garrulus (“talkative, chattering”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Latin garrīre (“to chatter”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} with the suffix -ous.^[3][6] Etymonline traces it to an imitative root *gar- “to call, cry”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Given to much talking or chatter (about 1611).^[7][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart notes that it may also be a back-formation from garrulity (1581).^[3] It was later applied to birds and babbling things (1854)^[7] and to speech full of long rambling statements (1838–39).^[7]

Timeline

• 1581 – garrulity.^[3]
• about 1611 – talkative.^[7][3][5]
• 1838–39 – of speech, wordy.^[7]
• 1854 – of birds and things, chattering.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Too fond of talking, especially about trivial things; tiresomely talkative.
2. Wordy and rambling.

Word family

• garrulously
• garrulousness

Related words

• garrulity

Usage notes

Random House gives prating and babbling as synonyms, refers to talkative for a discussion, and gives reticent, uncommunicative, taciturn and close-mouthed as antonyms.^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press