blubber

blubber · verb, noun¹

1. Middle English · inherited fromblober
2. Middle English · inherited frombloberen
3. English todayblubber

The verb is derived from Late Middle English bloberen, bluberen (“to bubble, seethe”); and the noun from Late Middle English blober, bluber (“bubble; bubbling water; foaming waves; fish or whale oil; entrails, intestines; (medicine) pustule”), both probably onomatopoeic, representing the movement or sound of a bubbling liquid, or the movement of lips forming bubbles (compare bleb and blob, thought to be similarly imitative). As both the verb and noun are attested in the 14th century, it is difficult to tell which one developed first; the Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the noun may be derived from the verb. Verb etymology 1, verb sense 1.2 (“to cause (one’s face) to disfigure or swell through crying”) is influenced by blubber (adjective).

blubber · noun²

From blub + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).

blubber · adjective³

A variant of blabber and blobber, probably influenced by blub and blubber (noun).