ABSTRACT
BABBLE, CHATTER. CHAT, PRATTLE, PRATE. Babble is allied to German bappeln, Dutch babbelen, French babiller, etc. The suffix le is frequentative, and the verb means to keep on saying ba, ba, syllables imitative of a child trying to talk. Chatter and chat are imitative words. Prate, allied to Dutch prat, talk, Low German praten, etc., is possibly an imitative word. Prattle is the frequentative of prate and means to keep on prating.
