Babs

21 8.9

A friendly nickname for a woman called Barbara

proper noun
/bæbz/

Informal

: Babs

Although her name is Barbara, her friends affectionately call her Babs.

Examples

BABS, I THINK IT'S TIME WE WENT TO BED.

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)
ANYTHING THAT’S GONNA HAPPEN IS GONNA HAPPEN OUT THERE, RIGHT, BABS ?

Captain Ron (1992)
BABS: It's all yours, sister.

Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992)
BABS: I'll get even with Buster if it's the last thing I do.

Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992)
BABS: Okay, we're obviously outnumbered.

Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992)
BABS: Oh, great.

Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992)
BABS: Come on.

Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992)
BABS: We're trapped.

Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992)
Babs has always been my favorite name for Babs because it sounds so friendly.
When she performs on stage, everyone calls her Babs for a more personal touch.

Surface Forms

Babs main

Morphology

Babs = Barb + Barbara (semi-transparent) = barb + s

Formed by clipping the name Barbara to 'Barb' and adding an affectionate '-s'; the relation to 'Barbara' is clear to many but nickname formation is irregular for learners.

Etymology

The word Babs is a friendly nickname for Barbara, which comes from an old Greek word barbaros meaning 'foreign' or 'strange'. So Babs is a short, warm form of that name used when people know someone well.