rabble

rabble

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹæbəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æbəl

Etymology 1

First attested since 1300s, from Middle English rablen (“to ramble; rave; speak in a confused manner”), cognate with Middle Dutch rabbelen (“to talk; chatter; trifle”), Low German rabbeln, robbeln (“to chatter; prattle”).

Alternative forms

• ravel

Verb

rabble (third-person singular simple present rabbles, present participle rabbling, simple past and past participle rabbled)

1. (intransitive) To speak in a confused manner; talk incoherently; utter nonsense
2. (transitive) To speak confusedly or incoherently; gabble or chatter out

Etymology 2

From Middle English rabel, probably from the verb (see above).

Noun

rabble (plural rabbles)

1. (obsolete) A bewildered or meaningless string of words.
2. (obsolete) A pack of animals; or any confused collection of things.
3. A mob; a disorderly crowd. [from late 14^th c.]
4. (derogatory) The mass of common people; the lowest class of populace. [from 1550s]

   Synonyms: plebs, riffraff; see also Thesaurus:commonalty

   • 1682, [Nahum Tate; John Dryden], The Second Part of Absalom and Achitophel. A Poem. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 876856636, page 5:

     Such practices as Theſe, too groſs to lye / Long unobſerv'd by each diſcerning Eye, / The more judicious Iſraelites Unſpell'd, / Though ſtill the Charm the giddy Rabble held, [...]

Derived terms

• rabble rouser
• rabblesome

Translations

a disorderly crowd

Bulgarian: тълпа (bg) f (tǎlpa) Finnish: väkijoukko (fi), ihmisjoukko (fi) French: cohue (fr) f, foule (fr) f Greek: όχλος (el) m (óchlos), σκυλολόι (el) n (skylolói) (colloquial) Hungarian: tömeg (hu) Japanese: 烏合の衆 (ja) (うごうのしゅう, ugō no shū), 有象無象 (ja) (uzou muzou) Kikuyu: gĩcanjama class 7 Lithuanian: gaujà f Polish: hołota (pl) f, motłoch (pl) m, hałastra (pl) f Russian: толпа́ (ru) f (tolpá), сброд (ru) m (sbrod), чернь (ru) f (černʹ), бы́дло (ru) n (býdlo) Spanish: turba (es) f

the mass of common people; the lowest class of people

Bulgarian: простолюдие (bg) n (prostoljudie) Catalan: gentalla (ca) f, gentola (ca) f Finnish: rahvas (fi) French: populace (fr) f (the commoners), racaille (fr) f Galician: xentalla f, chusma (gl) f, xente bafúa f German: Pöbel (de) m Greek: αληταρία (el) f (alitaría) Ancient: σύρφαξ m (súrphax), συρφετός m (surphetós) Hungarian: csőcselék (hu), csürhe (hu), söpredék (hu) Ido: raskalaro (io) Italian: gentaglia (it) f Korean: 떨거지 (tteolgeoji) Latin: popellus m Lithuanian: pãdugnės f pl Macedonian: раја f (raja) Polish: bydło (pl) n, męty pl Portuguese: gentalha (pt) f, ralé (pt) f, malta (pt) f Russian: сброд (ru) m (sbrod), чернь (ru) f (černʹ), бы́дло (ru) n (býdlo) толпа́ (ru) f (tolpá), простонаро́дье (ru) n (prostonaródʹje) Spanish: gentuza (es) f, gentualla f, chusma (es), gleba f, patulea f, gentecilla f, populacho (es) m, plebe (es) f Swedish: pöbel (sv) c

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Chinese: Mandarin: 廢物／废物 (zh) (fèiwù), 烏合之眾／乌合之众 (zh) (wūhézhlzhòng) Dutch: meute (nl) f, meutes (nl) f pl, menigte (nl) f, menigten (nl) f pl, gepeupel (nl) n, volk (nl) n Greek: όχλος (el) m (óchlos) (óchlos) Hebrew: ערב רב‎ (eirev rav) Japanese: 群衆 (ja) (ぐんしゅう, gunshū), 暴徒 (ja) (ぼうと, bōto) (mob) Scottish Gaelic: gràisg f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: о̏лош m, руља f Roman: ȍloš (sh) m, rulja (sh) f Turkish: ayaktakımı (tr) Volapük: lupöp (vo)

Etymology 3

Old French roable (modern French râble), from Latin rutabulum (“a poker”).

Noun

rabble (plural rabbles)

1. An iron bar used in puddling.

Verb

rabble (third-person singular simple present rabbles, present participle rabbling, simple past and past participle rabbled)

1. (transitive) To stir with a rabble.

Derived terms

• rabbler

Further reading

• rabble in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• rabble in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• rabble at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Babler, barbel, barble