blether

Where does the word "blether" come from? It comes from Old Norse blaðra, passing through Scots before entering English (1700s).

Blether’s story begins in Old Norse: blaðra meant “to babble.” To talk nonsense, from 'blaðra', bladder. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in Scots as blether. Robert Burns and other Scots poets used it for idle chatter; 'blather' is the English form. It reached English by 1700s as blether. 'blather' spread widely in American English. Today, blether means to talk long-windedly without making much sense.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval blaðra "to babble", to talk nonsense, from 'blaðra', bladder.
2. Stage 2 · Scots · 1500s blether "to babble", Robert Burns and other Scots poets used it for idle chatter; 'blather' is the English form.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1700s blether "to talk nonsense", 'blather' spread widely in American English.