באָבע

Yiddish

Alternative forms

באַבע (babe), בובע (bube)

Etymology

Either inherited from eastern Middle High German bābe (“old woman”) or independently borrowed from a Slavic language. In both cases eventually from Proto-Slavic *baba (“old woman”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbɔbə/

Noun

באָבע • (bobe) f, plural באָבעס (bobes)

granny, grandmother
Synonyms: פֿראַלע (frale), אָמאַ (oma), גראָסמאַמאַ (grosmama), גראָסמוטער (grosmuter), גרויסמוטער (groysmuter)

Usage notes

This is one of few Yiddish nouns to inflect, optionally becoming באָבען (boben) in the dative, and באָבעס (bobes) in the possessive.

Derived terms

באָבע־מעשׂה f (bobe-mayse, “tall story, fairy tale”)
אור־באָבע f (ur-bobe), עלטער־באָבע f (elter-bobe, “great-grandmother”)

Related terms

באָבעשי f (bobeshi, “granny”)