confab

confab · noun¹

1. Latin · derived fromconfābulātiōnem
2. Middle English · inherited fromconfabulacion“conversation”
3. English todayconfab

Clipping of confabulation, from Middle English confabulacion (“conversation”), from Latin confābulātiōnem, from cōnfābulārī + -tiōnem (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or their results); see further at etymology 2.

confab · verb²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰeh₂-“to say, speak”
2. Latin · derived fromcōnfābulārī
3. English todayconfab

Clipping of confabulate, from Latin cōnfābulārī + English -ate (suffix forming verbs with the sense of acting in the specified manner). Cōnfābulārī is the present active infinitive of cōnfābulor (“to converse; to discuss”), from con- (prefix indicating a bringing together) + fābulor (“to chat, converse, talk; to make up a story”) (from fābula (“discourse, narrative; fable, story”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to say, speak”)) + for (“to say, speak, talk”)).

Words from the same roots