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Bubba

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This article is about the southern United States term. For the Kaytranada album, see Bubba (album).

In American usage, "Bubba" is a term of endearment mainly given to boys, being formed from the word brother it often indicates that someone is a "little brother".[1]

Etymology and history

The linguist Ian Hancock has described similarities between the African Krio language and Gullah, the creole language of blacks in the isolated Sea Islands of South Carolina, and points out that the Krio expression bohboh ('boy') appears in Gullah as buhbuh, which may account for the Bubba of the American South.[2]

Robert Ferguson notes in his book English Surnames that Bubba corresponds with the German Bube, "boy". This matches Saxon and Hibernian tradition.[3]

Because of its association with the southern part of the United States, Bubba is also often used outside the South as a pejorative to mean a person of low economic status and limited education. Bubba may also be taken to mean one who is a "good ol' boy". At times, it may be used as a term of endearment (or in an insulting sense) for a person, especially to a man, who is either overweight or has a seemingly powerful large body frame.[4][5]

Other uses

In the US Army and Marines, "Bubba" can mean a lay soldier, similar to "grunt", but with connotations of endearment instead of derision (e.g., "Can you make that device easier to work with, because every Bubba is going to have to use it?").

The word exists in other languages and carries similar meanings. "Bubba" is common in Australia and New Zealand as a noun to refer affectionately to a baby.

In gun culture, "Bubba" is a term used for a person who permanently alters or modifies historic firearms, with no regard for its historical value, or as a verb or adjective to describe the act of or an already modified historical firearm.[citation needed]

In Yiddish, the word Bobe [with a vowel similar to a shortened version of the vowel of caught + beh] means "grandmother" and as a form of address, is often rendered by English speakers as "Bubba" or "Bubbie".

People

Nickname

Middle name

Stage name

Fictional characters

Films and television

Games

Literature

Other uses

See also

References

  1. ^ Attaway, Roy (1985). Boating. Vol. 57. p. 10. ISSN 0006-5374.
  2. ^ "Welcome | The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition". Yale.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  3. ^ Robert Ferguson (1858). English Surnames: And Their Place in the Teutonic Family. G. Routledge & Company. p. 272. Retrieved 2016-03-02. bubba.
  4. ^ "Interview with a link spammer". The Register. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
  5. ^ "Mr. Spammer, meet Bubba your new cell mate". ZDNet Blog: Between the Lines. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
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