bubbe
/ˈbʊbə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.36 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A grandmother.
Example Sentences
- "The Bube explained the situation in voluble Yiddish, and made Esther wince again under the impassioned invective on her clumsiness. […] If the family died of starvation, their blood would be upon her grand-daughter's head."
- "I never met my bubbe, my grandma, the source of all my mother's Yiddish proverbs, […]"
- "I dedicate this book to my late grandparents, Morris and Bala Baellow. My bubbe’s inability to write in English turned out to be a blessing: she pressed me into service as her scribe at an early age."
- "Once, when I poked my stick in a bed of brown leaves, I found a shimmery snakeskin. When I showed my bubbe, she said I had found a memory of the snake, and that memories were precious."
- ""I wanna more chocolate, bubbe," said Karl. […] "You heard the bubbe," said Josie. "There isn't any. You act up and cry and I'll give you the back of my hand.""
Etymology
Borrowed from Yiddish באָבע (bobe, “grandmother”), and then either from a Slavic language or from eastern Middle High German bābe (“old woman”), both from Proto-Slavic *baba (“old woman”) and ultimately imitative of a child’s babbling. Doublet of baba.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbʊbə/
- British English: /ˈbʊbə/