jabberwocky
Americannoun
plural
jabberwockies-
a playful imitation of language consisting of invented, meaningless words; nonsense; gibberish.
-
an example of writing or speech consisting of or containing meaningless words.
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of jabberwocky
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”
Explanation
Jabberwocky is nonsense or gibberish — words that don't really mean anything. Your mom might comment on the music you like by saying, "It just sounds like jabberwocky to me." The made-up language you share with your sister can be described as jabberwocky, and so can the meaningless babble coming out of a toddler's mouth. The noun jabberwocky comes from a poem by the same name that Lewis Carroll included in his book "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There," which he wrote in 1871. The poem is full of colorful nonsense words, including the word jabberwocky itself.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What were these jabberwocky words arranged in this order doing here?
From New York Times • Oct. 22, 2022
Her intolerance for political jabberwocky and inflated ego was equaled by her seemingly boundless personal generosity, which often led her to help strangers in need.
From Washington Post • Dec. 8, 2021
Me: “Was brelig in the slithy toads did gire and bible in the raids and the mobe beware the jabberwocky my son the boys that catch the fenrous bender snatch long time the maxim foam.”
From BusinessWeek • Aug. 9, 2012
The development that has injected such enthusiasm into the recession-hit tourist business is known in industry jabberwocky as O.T.C., meaning one-stop inclusive tour charter.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was well on its way to join Mairzy Boats and the Hut Sut Song in the jabberwocky Valhalla of the jukebox.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
