Blatterer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Someone who speaks quickly and at great length, often without much substance
2. An individual who tends to talk nonstop in a rapid and sometimes annoying manner
3. A person characterized by constant and hurried speech that may overwhelm listeners

Etymology: "Blatterer" is formed from "blatter" with the agent suffix "-er," so it describes a person who blatters, that is, one who talks rapidly and incessantly. The suffix is the familiar English one found in words like "singer" or "worker," attached to a verb that, in this case, carries the sense of noisy, rapid chatter. The base "blatter" is the more interesting half. It shares roots with the Middle English and Scots-influenced vocabulary of noise and rattling, and its sense of foolish, rambling speech explains why a person who keeps it up earns the label. Words of this kind often arose in dialect or colloquial use before appearing in writing, so the precise dates of the base and the agent form are best read from a dictionary's citations rather than assumed here.

Synonyms: babbling, prattler, talker

Antonyms: listener, quiet