German

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Etymology

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Related to sabbern (to drivel, drool).

This word entered standard German alongside sabbern from Low German [Term?]. Subsequently, the meaning of this term shifted; sabbern retains the original meaning, "drool". Compare southern Dutch zabberen, standard Dutch sabbelen. The nouns Sabber and Sabbel are also closely related.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈzabəln/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: sab‧beln

Verb

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sabbeln (weak, third-person singular present sabbelt, past tense sabbelte, past participle gesabbelt, auxiliary haben)

  1. jabber, gab, rattle on, rabbit on (to talk a lot and quickly, or to talk nonsense)
    Synonyms: quasseln, schwätzen, schwafeln

Conjugation

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • sabbeln” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • sabbeln” in Duden online