prittle-prattle
Morphology
ablaut reduplicationEtymology
From prattle (OED 1532).Classification
nonsense, speechDefinition
1, trivial, worthless, or idle talk; light, easy, familiar conversation, small talk; chatter, tittle-tattle; childish prattle.2, a silly chatterer, a gossip. to chatter, prate, talk idly.
Quotations
1556 Olde Antichrist 9 b, I could easily contemne their prittle prattle talking.Ibid. 30 To make much prittle prattle of Salomons temple.
1579-80 North Plutarch (1676) 546 Every man's mouth was full of prittle prattle and seditious words.
1698 Vanbrugh Prov. Wife iii. i, Our prittle-prattle will cure your spleen.
1714 Mandeville Fab. Bees (1725) I. 287 We took delight in the Prittle-Prattle of the innocent Babe.
1755 Gentl. Mag. XXV. 419 Nor bear a part in prittle-prattle Of rumour-loving tittle-tattle.
1774 Westm. Mag. II. 453 He is sure to be a prittle-prattle fellow.
1838 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) III. vi. 85 French, being the very language of chit-chat and prittle-prattle, is one reason why I like so much the mÈmoires' and letters of that gossiping nation.
1602 F. Herring Anat. 12 Being in high Credit with my Gossip Prittle Prattle.
1725 Bailey Erasm. Colloq. 35 Don't be a prittle prattle, nor prate apace.
References
The Oxford English dictionary, 2nd ed. Edited by J.A. Simpson and E.S.C. Weiner. Clarendon Press, 1989. [See biblography.]DictionaryEntries | FieldGuide
