Revised 2018
bubblyadjective & noun
Factsheet
What does the word bubbly mean?
There are five meanings listed in OED's entry for the word bubbly. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
bubbly has developed meanings and uses in subjects including
How common is the word bubbly?
About 0.4occurrences per million words in modern written English
| 1760 | 0.0088 |
| 1770 | 0.0066 |
| 1780 | 0.0054 |
| 1790 | 0.0048 |
| 1800 | 0.0029 |
| 1810 | 0.0046 |
| 1820 | 0.0058 |
| 1830 | 0.0071 |
| 1840 | 0.011 |
| 1850 | 0.013 |
| 1860 | 0.015 |
| 1870 | 0.018 |
| 1880 | 0.021 |
| 1890 | 0.025 |
| 1900 | 0.032 |
| 1910 | 0.045 |
| 1920 | 0.057 |
| 1930 | 0.069 |
| 1940 | 0.082 |
| 1950 | 0.11 |
| 1960 | 0.18 |
| 1970 | 0.26 |
| 1980 | 0.34 |
| 1990 | 0.42 |
| 2000 | 0.47 |
| 2010 | 0.49 |
How is the word bubbly pronounced?
British English
/ˈbʌbl̩i/
BUB-uhl-ee
/ˈbʌbli/
BUB-lee
U.S. English
/ˈbəbli/
BU-blee
Scottish English
/ˈbʌblɪ/
Where does the word bubbly come from?
Earliest known use
mid 1500s
The earliest known use of the word bubbly is in the mid 1500s.
OED's earliest evidence for bubbly is from 1568.
bubbly is probably formed within English, by derivation.
Etymons: bubble n., ‑y suffix1; bubble v., ‑y suffix1.
Nearby entries
- bubble water, n.1899–
- bubble wrap, n.1965–
- bubble-wrap, v.1984–
- bubble-wrapped, adj.1985–
- bubble zone, n.1988–
- bubbliness, n.1900–
- bubbling, n.a1398–
- bubbling, adj.1561–
- bubblingly, adv.1611–
- bubblish, adj.1830–
- bubbly, adj. & n.1568–
- bubbly jock, n.1785–
- bubbly water, n.1878–
- bubby, n.¹?1660–
- bubby, n.²1841–
- bubby, n.³1885–
- bube, n.1608–73
- bubele, n.1959–
- bubinga, n.1912–
- bubo, n.c1425–
- buboed, adj.1828–
Etymology
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Meaning & use
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Pronunciation
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Forms
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Frequency
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Compounds & derived words
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Entry history for bubbly, adj. & n.
bubbly, adj. & n. was revised in March 2018.
bubbly, adj. & n. was last modified in July 2023.
oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:
- further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
- new senses, phrases, and quotations.
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into bubbly, adj. & n. in July 2023.
Earlier versions of this entry were published in:
OED First Edition (1888)
OED Second Edition (1989)
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Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .
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Citation details
Factsheet for bubbly, adj. & n.
Browse entry
Nearby entries
- bubble water, n.1899–
- bubble wrap, n.1965–
- bubble-wrap, v.1984–
- bubble-wrapped, adj.1985–
- bubble zone, n.1988–
- bubbliness, n.1900–
- bubbling, n.a1398–
- bubbling, adj.1561–
- bubblingly, adv.1611–
- bubblish, adj.1830–
- bubbly, adj. & n.1568–
- bubbly jock, n.1785–
- bubbly water, n.1878–
- bubby, n.¹?1660–
- bubby, n.²1841–
- bubby, n.³1885–
- bube, n.1608–73
- bubele, n.1959–
- bubinga, n.1912–
- bubo, n.c1425–
- buboed, adj.1828–
