babe
/beɪb/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.11 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A darling (a term of endearment).
name
A male given name or nickname
Example Sentences
- "These events came to pass when he was but a babe."
- "Though he possess sweet babes and loving wife, A home of peace by loyal friendships cheered, And love them more than death or happy life,"
- "She's a real babe!"
- "During the 1980s, its vivid streetlife became a symbol of the “consumer socialism” that distinguished Hungary from other Eastern Bloc states, but Budapesters today are rather less enamoured of Váci: dressed-to-kill babes and their sugar daddies would rather pose in malls, and teenagers can find McDonald's anywhere, leaving Váci utterly dependent on tourists for its livelihood and bustle."
- "Hey, babe, how's about you and me getting together?"
- "But, Babe, you don't have to meet 'em if you don't want to."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- Proto-Germanic *bō-redup. Proto-Germanic *babô Proto-West Germanic *babō Old English *baba Middle English babe English babe From Middle English babe, a variant of earlier baban, perhaps from Old English *baba (“boy, child”), from Proto-West Germanic *babō, from Proto-Germanic *babô, reduplicated variant of *ba-, *bō- (“father, brother, close male relation”). cognates and related terms Related to Old Frisian bobba (“child”) (whence North Frisian babbe, babb, babe (“child”)), Old High German Babo (a male forename), see boy. Otherwise, origin obscure. Compare mama, dada, papa. Welsh baban (“baby”), believed by Skeat to be a mutation of maban, a diminutive of mab (“son”), is probably rather a borrowing from English. Cognate also with English bub.