blubber

verb

1. (transitive)Often followed by out: to cry out (words) while sobbing.

   “Here Bliſil ſighed bitterly; upon vvhich VVeſtern, vvhoſe Eyes vvere full of Tears at the praiſe of Sophia, blubbered out, 'Don't be Chicken-hearted, for ſhat ha her, d—n me, ſhat ha her, if ſhe vvas tvventy Times as good.'”

2. (also, archaic, figuratively, transitive)To wet (one's eyes or face) by crying; to beweep; also, to cause (one's face) to disfigure or swell through crying.

   “Her ſvvollen eyes vvere much diſfigured, / And her faire face vvith teares vvas fovvly blubbered.”

   “As God sees the water in the spring in the veins of the earth, before it bubble upon the face of the earth; so God sees tears in the heart of a man, before they blubber his face; God hears the tears of that sorrowful soul, which for sorrow cannot shed tears.”

   “Dear Cloe, how blubber'd is that pretty Face? / Thy Cheek all on Fire, and Thy Hair all uncurl'd: […]”

   “[S]he haſtily retired, taking vvith her her little Girl, vvhoſe eyes vvere all over blubbered at the melancholy Nevvs ſhe heard of Jones, vvho uſed to call her his little VVife, and not only gave her many Playthings, but ſpent vvhole Hours in playing vvith her himſelf.”

   “The opening of the first grammar-school was the opening of the first trench against monopoly in church and state; the first row of trammels and pothooks which the little Shearjashubs and Elkanahs blotted and blubbered across their copy-books, was the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.”

3. (obsolete, transitive)Often followed by forth: to let (one's tears) flow freely.

   “Looke on this tree, vvhich blubbereth Amber gum / vvhich ſeemes to ſpeak to thee, though it be dumb, / VVhich being ſenceles blocks, as thou do'ſt ſee, / VVeepe at my vvoes, that thou might'ſt pitty mee: […]”

   “Behold her novv in humble guiſe, / Upon her knees vvith dovvncaſt eyes / Before the Prieſt: ſhe thus begins, / And ſobbing, blubbers forth her ſins; […]”

4. (derogatory, intransitive)To cry or weep freely and noisily; to sob.

   “What weepe? fye for ſhame, and blubber? for manhods ſake, / Neuer lette your foe ſo muche pleaſure of you take.”

   “VVhere are you, vvife? my Celia? vvhat, blubbering? / Come, drye thoſe teares, I thinke, thou thought'ſt mee in earneſt?”

   “VVhen he heard me pronounce theſe vvords in our ovvn language, he leaped upon me in a tranſport of joy, hung about my neck, kiſſed me from ear to ear, and blubbered like a great ſchool-boy vvho has been vvhipt.”

   “Phœbe Mayflower blubbered heartily for company, though she understood but little of what had passed; […]”

5. (intransitive, obsolete)To bubble or bubble up; also, to make a bubbling sound like water boiling.

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A fatty layer of adipose tissue found immediately beneath the epidermis of whales and other cetaceans (infraorder Cetacea).

   “Though their [the hyena whale or pilot whale's] blubber is very thin, some of these whales will yield you upwards of thirty gallons of oil.”

   “There was a most Monstrous Whale: / He had no Skin, he had no Tail. / When he tried to Spout, that Great Big Lubber, / The best he could do was Jiggle his Blubber.”

   “The first barrels of crude fetched $18 (around $450 at today's prices). It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage of whale blubber.”

2. (uncountable)A fatty layer of adipose tissue found immediately beneath the epidermis of whales and other cetaceans (infraorder Cetacea).

   “There were hundred of slaughtered seals, and it was evident that, as far as the eye could reach, the work of death had been complete. Still something had occurred to prevent the hunters from securing their rich booty, for huge piles of skins, with their adhering blubber, were scattered over the ice, and near one was planted firmly in the floe a boat-hook, with a small flag at the top.”

3. (derogatory, informal, offensive, uncountable)A fatty layer of adipose tissue found immediately beneath the epidermis of whales and other cetaceans (infraorder Cetacea).

   “Are you numbered among the employed yet? I read the unemployment figures and I shudder. You do not have any stored-up blubber to live on.”

4. (archaic, broadly, countable)A fatty layer of adipose tissue found immediately beneath the epidermis of whales and other cetaceans (infraorder Cetacea).

   “You know, Jacob, that the North Seas are full of these animals—you cannot imagine the quantity of them; the sailors call them blubbers, because they are composed of a sort of transparent jelly, but the real name I am told is Medusæ, that is, the learned name.”

5. (countable, derogatory)An act of crying or weeping freely and noisily.

   “Fassmann gives dolorous clippings from the Leyden Gazette, all in a blubber of tears, according to the then fashion, but full of impertinent curiosity withal.”

6. (countable, obsolete)A bubble.
7. One who blubs (“cries or weeps freely and noisily”); a blubberer.

   “[T]hree of the boys, of whom Mr. Hector was sometimes one, used to come in the morning as his humble attendants, and carry him [Johnson] to school. […] The purfly, sand-blind lubber and blubber, with his open mouth, and face of bruised honeycomb; yet already dominant, imperial, irresistible!”

   “It was really emotional. I am a blubber at the best of times. I had only been there for 18 months and found it upsetting so it was really hard for the people that had been there for 18 years.”

   “As an auctioneer, you tend to come into people's lives when they are going through an awful lot, and it is very difficult not to get emotionally involved. You feel responsible for helping them to achieve their goal, and that's quite a weight to carry on your shoulders. I am a blubber at the best of times – it doesn't take a lot to set me off!”

adj

1. (archaic, not-comparable)Especially of lips: protruding, swollen.

   “And what like is the Nubian slave, who comes ambassador on such an errand from the Soldan? […] with black skin, a head curled like a ram's, a flat nose, and blubber lips—ha, worthy Sir Henry?”