Bubby
noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A woman's breast. dated, slang
"Chlo: What do you mean (uncivil as you are) / To touch my breaſts and leave my boſome bare? / Daph: Theſe pretty bubbies firſt I make my own."
- 2 Familiar term of address for a boy; bub; bubba. childish
"Mother sent me to hunt you; she is dying, and sissy and bubby are hungry and the baby is crying, and we're afraid the cross man will come."
- 3 Alternative spelling of bubbe (“grandmother”). alt-of, alternative
Example
More examples"Chlo: What do you mean (uncivil as you are) / To touch my breaſts and leave my boſome bare? / Daph: Theſe pretty bubbies firſt I make my own."
Etymology
Likely a babble word; compare dialectal German Bübbi (“teat”). Some older references connected the word to French poupe, but this is considered "very doubtful" by the OED. Compare Latin pūpa (“little girl”).
Perhaps from brother, as pronounced by young children who are not yet able to properly pronounce its complex consonants, but alternatively perhaps from Pennsylvania German; see bub. Compare sissy.
Variant spelling. (From Yiddish.)
More for "bubby"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.