English

Noun

babber ‎(plural babbers)

1. (Britain, chiefly Bristol, informal) Baby
   • 2014 January 28, “Not yet walking, but definitely talking / a trip to Bristol Zoo”, in Dad's Diary, retrieved 2014-11-20:

     That babber of mine has been starting to talk lately and this morning when he saw me he said "da da da" very clearly! Proud moment.

2. (Britain, chiefly Bristol, informal) Friend
   • 2012, Regan, Mark, “Taken for a Ride”, in More Blood, Sweat and Beers: World Cup Rugby Tales, ISBN 9780857203472:

     In the 2007 World Cup quarter-final against Australia, Andy Sheridan almost destroyed Aussie prop Matt Dunning in the first scrum, and as they broke up Andy was heard to say, “And you've got another seventy-nine minutes of f****** agony to look forward to, my babber.”

3. (Angling, East Anglia) A fisherman of eels, using a bab.
   • 1884, Davies, George Christopher, Norfolk Broads and Rivers, W. Blackwood and sons, page 244:

     The babbers follow the eels, and you may see fifteen boats as close together as possible, babbing away, and catching as much as four stone-weight of eels per boat of a night.

Synonyms

• (baby): See Wikisaurus:baby
• (friend): See Wikisaurus:friend

Derived terms

• (baby): bab
• (friend): alright me babber, alright my babber