bubbe

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points: 11
Words With Friends: 15
Letters: 5

Pronunciation

/ˈbʊbə/

See all 4 pronunciations

/ˈbʊbə/ · /ˈbʌ-/ · /-bi/ · /ˈbɔ-/

Definition of bubbe

2 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

A grandmother.

“The Bube explained the situation in voluble Yiddish, and made Esther wince again under the impassioned invective on her clumsiness. […] If the family died of starvation, their blood would be upon her grand-daughter's head.”
“I never met my bubbe, my grandma, the source of all my mother's Yiddish proverbs, […]”
“I dedicate this book to my late grandparents, Morris and Bala Baellow. My bubbe’s inability to write in English turned out to be a blessing: she pressed me into service as her scribe at an early age.”
“Once, when I poked my stick in a bed of brown leaves, I found a shimmery snakeskin. When I showed my bubbe, she said I had found a memory of the snake, and that memories were precious.”

See all 2 definitions

noun

A grandmother.

“The Bube explained the situation in voluble Yiddish, and made Esther wince again under the impassioned invective on her clumsiness. […] If the family died of starvation, their blood would be upon her grand-daughter's head.”
“I never met my bubbe, my grandma, the source of all my mother's Yiddish proverbs, […]”
“I dedicate this book to my late grandparents, Morris and Bala Baellow. My bubbe’s inability to write in English turned out to be a blessing: she pressed me into service as her scribe at an early age.”
“Once, when I poked my stick in a bed of brown leaves, I found a shimmery snakeskin. When I showed my bubbe, she said I had found a memory of the snake, and that memories were precious.”
An elderly woman.

“"I wanna more chocolate, bubbe," said Karl. […] "You heard the bubbe," said Josie. "There isn't any. You act up and cry and I'll give you the back of my hand."”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish באָבע (bobe, “grandmother”), and then either from a Slavic language or from eastern Middle High German bābe (“old woman”), both from Proto-Slavic *baba (“old woman”) and ultimately imitative of a child’s babbling. Doublet of baba.