Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Used as a term of familiar address, especially for a man or boy.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A substitute for yeast, prepared by mixing meal or flour with a little yeast in a quantity of warm wort and water.
  • noun Strong drink of any kind; liquor, especially malt liquor.
  • To throw out in bubbles.
  • noun A woman's breast.
  • noun A boy: used in familiar address.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Cant Strong malt liquor.
  • noun A young brother; a little boy; -- a familiar term of address of a small boy.
  • transitive verb obsolete To throw out in bubbles; to bubble.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun slang, historical An alcoholic malt liquor, especially beer.
  • noun A woman's breast.
  • noun A term of familiar address; bubba; bubby.
  • noun Australia, slang A baby.
  • noun slang champagne; bubbly.
  • verb obsolete To throw out in bubbles; to bubble.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably alteration and shortening of brother.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Contraction of bubby.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Corruption of brother.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Shortened from bubble and bubbly.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Probably imitative of the sound of drinking.

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