See also: Gobble

English

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Etymology 1

edit

From Middle English gobben (to drink or swallow greedily), of uncertain origin +‎ -le (frequentative suffix). Middle English gobben is perhaps an alteration of Middle English globben (to gulp down), related to English gulpen (to gulp). However, compare also French gober.

Verb

edit

gobble (third-person singular simple present gobbles, present participle gobbling, simple past and past participle gobbled)

  1. To eat hastily or greedily; to scoff or scarf (often used with up)
    He gobbled four hot dogs in three minutes.
Synonyms
edit
Derived terms
edit
Translations
edit

Noun

edit

gobble (plural gobbles)

  1. (Scotland, slang, vulgar) Fellatio; a blowjob.
    • 2009, Mandasue Heller, The Charmer:
      Nowadays, he was lucky if his mam's auld drinking cronies gave him a gobble.
  2. (rare) An act of eating hastily or greedily.
    • 1983, Liam O'Flaherty, The Assassin, page 53:
      [] wrinkling his forehead and moving his jaws and throat violently, as if he expected to choke with each gobble.
  3. (golf) A rapid straight putt so strongly played that, if the ball had not gone into the hole, it would have gone a long way past.
Derived terms
edit

Etymology 2

edit

Onomatopoetic of the sound of a turkey.

This entry needs a sound clip exemplifying the definition.

Verb

edit

gobble (third-person singular simple present gobbles, present participle gobbling, simple past and past participle gobbled)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) Of a turkey, to make its characteristic vocalisation; also, used of certain other birds.
    • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 72:
      Not before this performance is over does he [a male capercaillie] settle down to play, and commence gobbling and snapping his beak.
  2. (transitive, intransitive) To make the sound of a turkey.
    • 1774, Oliver Goldsmith, History of the Earth and Animated Nature:
      He [] gobbles out a note of self-approbation.
Translations
edit

Noun

edit

gobble (plural gobbles)

  1. The sound of a turkey; or, a similar vocalisation of another bird.
    • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 86:
      But while the hen continued her cackle he finished his first play, and had commenced the gobble of his second, when a twig cracked beneath my feet.
Translations
edit

See also

edit