Talk:babe

to do

The translations need to be synchronised with the synonym baby. Will probably check and/or move there and add {{trans-see}}, if there are no objections. --Anatoli ^{(обсудить}/^вклад) 23:29, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

Etymology

There is no evidence for this word being borrowed or being borrowed from English, except into French (BÉBÉ). It has its parallels in Welsh BABAN = Irish BABAN[8], probably from an infantile echoic origin that has been retained through millennia[6] and therefore pre-Germanic. For a Germanic word, see bub and its meaning. Professor Skeat's origin here does not explain the Irish word.

[0] means 'Absolutely not; [1] means 'Exceedingly unlikely'; [2] means 'Very dubious'; [3] means 'Questionable'; [4] means 'Possible'; [5] means 'Probable'; [6] means 'Likely'; [7] means 'Most Likely' or *Unattested; [8] means 'Attested'; [9] means 'Obvious' - only used for close matches within the same language or dialect, at linkable periods.

Andrew H. Gray 20:55, 4 November 2015 (UTC) (talk) 17:22, 18 August 2015 (UTC)

The evidence for related terms both in English and other Germanic languages is pretty strong, and fit the known paradigms for Germanic sound correspondences. How would Frisian et al have obtained such a homey word from a Celtic source ? Leasnam (talk) 15:44, 19 August 2016 (UTC)

The point that some Etymologists seem to overlook is that such intimate and generic lexemes would have been carried through from previous dialects, since young children would just continue to speak what they know. This equally applies to Frisian and other Germanic dialects, because older races, with their dialects, inhabited such areas beforehand, similarly to Britain. Another point is highlighted here and that is that many such words are influenced by the Germanic conquests, producing a "hybrid" effect. Most infants' usage is pretty general anyway. Otherwise an Anglo-Saxon or Early English word of Scandinavian origin would be in place. Andrew H. Gray 11:55, 20 August 2016 (UTC) Andrew (talk)

Not so sure about "endearing/affectionate"

It can be used that way, but it can also be sleazy in a way that "darling" usually isn't. More like, I dunno, "dollface". Equinox ◑ 17:27, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

Possible missing sense: a kind of cheat in auctions

John Camden Hotten's Slang Dictionary (1873) defines babe as the lowest order of "knockout" (a person who cheats in auctions in a certain way). I will add that sense to knockout later. Equinox ◑ 17:30, 6 January 2021 (UTC)