Definition of RABBLE

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Noun

Rabble has been with the English language since its appearance in Middle English (as "rabel") in the late 1300s. It may have come from the Middle English verb "rabel" which meant "to babble." (Despite the similarity in sound and meaning, however, "babble" and "rabble" are unrelated.) The verb "rabel" is related to Middle Dutch "rabbelen" and Low German rabbeln, meaning "to chatter." So how do we get from babbling to crowds of people? The connection may be the idea of confusion. "Rabble," in its earliest uses could not only indicate a pack of animals, swarm of insects, or a confused collection of things, but could also indicate a confused or meaningless string of words.

Examples of rabble in a Sentence

Noun

the crown prince was reminded that even the rabble of the realm deserved his attention and compassion

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

William Ackman, once an omnipresent rabble-rouser, is barely visible these days. — Cara Lombardo, WSJ, "After Suffering Bruising Losses, Ackman Pursues Quiet Recovery," 21 Mar. 2019 Social media turns national debate into an angry brawl and divides Americans into howling rabbles that tote smartphones instead of pitchforks. — James A. Baker Iii, WSJ, "John McCain and the Dying Art of Political Compromise," 29 Aug. 2018 Small wonder then that M.I.A, one of music’s most celebrated rabble-rousers and a face of Burberry’s holiday campaign, was invited to perform, taking to the stage a little before midnight. — Vogue, "Miley Cyrus and Ezra Miller Join Riccardo Tisci to Celebrate Burberry’s Collaboration With Vivienne Westwood," 9 Dec. 2018 In the 17th and 18th centuries, giants were strongly associated with members of the noble class, who could gaze straight at them from their balconies while the common rabble massed in the streets below. — Ryan P. Smith, Smithsonian, "For Hundreds of Years, Papier-Mâché Has Lent a Surreal Face to Catalan Culture," 3 July 2018 The Belgian authorities imprisoned Patrice Lumumba as a rabble-rouser. — New York Times, "Belgium Honors Congolese Leader It Helped Overthrow," 30 June 2018 Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, and my employment by the conservative rabble-rousers of Fox News—and, more recently, with the coming of the Age of Trump—my professional life has been even more difficult to define. — Fox News, "'The Geraldo Show' by Geraldo Rivera," 29 Mar. 2018 Unrealized promise is just one pitfall of marching on Washington, an American tradition that dates back to the depression year of 1894, when an Ohio rabble-rouser named Jacob Coxey led an army of unemployed men on the capital. — Rick Hampson, USA TODAY, "Can March For Our Lives rally avoid the fate of the Millions Mom March?," 22 Mar. 2018 Government officials, almost all Muslim, have struggled to curb religious rabble-rousing without being seen as insufficiently devout. — Pamela Constable, Washington Post, "Christians come under threat in Pakistan: ‘No one accused of blasphemy is ever safe’," 16 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rabble.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.