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drivel - 5 dictionary results

driv⋅el

  [driv-uhl] noun, verb, -eled, -el⋅ing or (especially British) -elled, -el⋅ling.
Use drivel in a Sentence
–noun
1. saliva flowing from the mouth, or mucus from the nose; slaver.
2. childish, silly, or meaningless talk or thinking; nonsense; twaddle.
–verb (used without object)
3. to let saliva flow from the mouth or mucus from the nose; slaver.
4. to talk childishly or idiotically.
5. Archaic. to issue like spittle.
–verb (used with object)
6. to utter childishly or idiotically.
7. to waste foolishly.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME dryvelen, var. of drevelen, OE dreflian; akin to draff

Related forms:
driv⋅el⋅er; especially British, driv⋅el⋅ler, noun
driv⋅el⋅ing⋅ly; especially British, driv⋅el⋅ling⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To drivel
driv·el   (drĭv'əl)   
v.   driv·eled or driv·elled, driv·el·ing or driv·el·ling, driv·els

v.   intr.
  1. To slobber; drool.
  2. To flow like spittle or saliva.
  3. To talk stupidly or childishly.
v.   tr.
  1. To allow to flow from the mouth.
  2. To say (something) stupidly.
n.  
  1. Saliva flowing from the mouth.
  2. Stupid or senseless talk.

[Middle English drevelen, from Old English dreflian.]
driv'el·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Drivel

Driv"el\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Driveledor Drivelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Driveling or Drivelling.] [Cf. OE. dravelen, drabelen, drevelen, drivelen, to slaver, and E. drabble. Cf. Drool.]

1. To slaver; to let spittle drop or flow from the mouth, like a child, idiot, or dotard.

2. [Perh. a different word: cf. Icel. drafa to talk thick.] To be weak or foolish; to dote; as, a driveling hero; driveling love. --Shak. Dryden.

Drivel

Driv"el\, n. 1. Slaver; saliva flowing from the mouth.

2. Inarticulate or unmeaning utterance; foolish talk; babble.

3. A driveler; a fool; an idiot. [Obs.] --Sir P. Sidney.

4. A servant; a drudge. [Obs.] --Huloet.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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drivel 
O.E. dreflian "to dribble or run at the nose," from P.Gmc. *drablojanan.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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