902: More about glob May 28, 2017

Last week on Word Facts you might have learned that 'glob' comes from a combination of 'blob' and 'gob', though this is not where the story ends. 'Blob', which was generally synonymous with 'bubble' and has quite a similar form to many other words that denote droplets of water or another liquid, including 'blotch' 'and 'botch', whose origins are unknown, and 'plop' which is imitative, as well as 'blot' from Old Norse. Many of these words, just like 'glob' itself are blends of other words; 'blotch' is thought to be at least partially a blend of 'blot' and 'botch'. All of these seem to follow the pattern of bubbles of liquid, which is reasonable for this list, so it may be surprising that 'blubber' denoting fat, not water, would be on this list as well. As it happens however, 'blubber' initially denoted sea-foam and other bubbles on the water, and not just animal fat. If you know of, or suspect any other words that could be on this list, feel free to write them in the comments.