What is the origin of the word boob?

"Boob" is a 1950's shortening of "booby", which in the 1930's came from "bubby". Linguists aren't sure, but "bubby" may derive from the German "Bübbi" which means 'teat'.

In 1347, when the bubonic plaque ravaged Europe, one of the symptoms of the plaque was called bubos or boobos which was a swelling of the lymph nodes, hence swelling of the chest can be referred to as boobs.

First answer by ID1116650673. Last edit by Monte44. Contributor trust: 0 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 6 [recommend question]