Chatty

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈt͡ʃæti/

Definitions

1. Having a tendency to talk a lot in a friendly and informal manner
2. Being inclined to engage in casual or frequent conversation
3. Characterized by abundant and informal speech, often sociable and lively

Etymology: Chatty comes from "chat" plus the suffix "-y," which turns a noun into an adjective meaning "full of" or "characterized by." The noun "chat" is itself a shortening of "chatter," which goes back to Middle English "cheteren" and "chiteren," words formed by imitating the rapid, repetitive sounds of birds and talk. So the adjective sits at the end of a chain that began with a sound effect. Its source has a second, rather different story. Dictionaries also connect "chat" to an older noun meaning "louse," and "chatty" can be read as "full of lice." Whether that is the true pathway for this adjective is not settled, and the two strands meet in the same Germanic ancestry, so the ancient sense of "louse" and the modern sense of "talkative" may not be as unrelated as they first appear.

Synonyms: talkative, loquacious, garrulous

Antonyms: silent, reserved, taciturn