Etymology

blah

B3L1A1H4

Today it means: Nonsense; drivel; idle, meaningless talk. Full definition →

French blasé
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The story

  1. French · derived fromblasé“bored, indifferent”
  2. English todayblah

* Sense “Idle, meaningless talk” (1940), probably imitative or echoic in origin. Compare Ancient Greek βαρ-βαρ (bar-bar, “unintelligible sounds”), of which the word barbarian derives from. * Adjective sense “bland, dull” (1919), perhaps influenced by French blasé (“bored, indifferent”). * The blahs (“boredom, mild depression”) first attested 1969; probably a blend of the blues + blah (adjective). * Also may be connected with bleat

Words from the same roots

Frenchblasé all →

blasé

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.