jabberwocky

[ jab-er-wok-ee ]

noun

, plural jab·ber·wock·ies.

1. a playful imitation of language consisting of invented, meaningless words; nonsense; gibberish.
2. an example of writing or speech consisting of or containing meaningless words.

adjective

1. consisting of or comparable to meaningless words; meaningless; senseless.

jabberwocky

/ ˈdʒæbəˌwɒkɪ /

noun

1. nonsense verse

Word History and Origins

Origin of jabberwocky¹

Coined in 1871 by Lewis Carroll ( def ) in “Jabberwocky,” poem in Through the Looking Glass; nonsensical formation perhaps inspired by jabber ( def ); claimed around 1883 by Carroll to mean “the result of much excited and voluble discussion” and derive from jabber + Old English wocer, wocor “fruit, offspring,” also “increase, usury”

Word History and Origins

Origin of jabberwocky¹

C19: coined by Lewis Carroll as the title of a poem in Through the Looking Glass (1871)

Example Sentences

Lewis Carroll really did introduce the word “chortle” to the English language in his 1871 poem Jabberwocky.

From The Daily Beast

After that some Indians came on the scene of action, fierce red men of the forest, and their language was decidedly Jabberwocky.

From Project Gutenberg

I heard somebody say "Sh," but she started in her toothless Jabberwocky.

From Project Gutenberg

A setting of Lewis Carroll's immortal "Jabberwocky" shows much rich humor of the college glee-club sort.

From Project Gutenberg

Along his line of work he took his “vorpal” sword in hand and severed all the knots and twists of the mathematical Jabberwocky.

From Project Gutenberg