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bur·ble

(bûrbəl)

1. A gurgling or bubbling sound, as of running water.

2. A rapid, excited flow of speech.

3. A separation in the boundary layer of fluid about a moving streamlined body, such as the wing of an airplane, causing a breakdown in the smooth flow of fluid and resulting in turbulence.

intr.v. bur·bled, bur·bling, bur·bles

1. To bubble; gurgle.

2. To speak quickly and excitedly; gush.

[Middle English burblen, to bubble.]

burbler n.

burbly adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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