Comment by hasmanean
7 days ago
Because alchemists were afraid of people stealing their recipes. Jabir bin Hayyan (aka Geber) the father of chemistry wrote in his own shorthand which is named after him—-gibberish or jibberish.
So Lead, gold, and quicksilver were not the substances their names suggest. They were codenames. The real processes have never been revealed.
The proposed etymology of gibberish is interesting, but unfortunately untrue :)
It was declared untrue in 1818 by Johnson’s dictionary.
But that’s just 1 vote. ;)
Sort of like how witches weren’t maiming newts for their potions. Eye of newt is mustard seed.
Unlikely.
https://www.reddit.com/r/etymology/comments/1ge48sq/macbeths...