blubber

Etymology 1

From Middle English bluber (“bubbling water; foaming waves”), of likely onomatopoeic origin. The verb is derived from the noun. See blob, bleb.

noun

1. A fatty layer of adipose tissue found immediately beneath the epidermis.
   It[Oil] was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage of whale blubber. 2013-08-03, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847
2. Fatty tissue.
3. The thick coat of fat worn by many Arctic animals, such as sea lions, and Antarctic animals, such as penguins; used to insulate warmth in the animal's body.
   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. 1877, Charles W. Hall, chapter XVIII, in Adrift in the Ice-Fields, Boston: Lee and Shepard
4. (obsolete) A bubble.

verb

1. To make noises or broken words while crying.
   They knew that the wall stood and the house was saved, and old Sam was blubbering over old Captain Joe Dickson lying spent almost to death on the veranda 1918, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, The Outside of the House
2. (archaic, transitive) To swell or disfigure (the face) with weeping; to wet with tears.
   Dear Cloe, how blubbered is that pretty face! 1718, Matthew Prior, A Better Answer

Etymology 2

From blub + -er.

noun

1. One who blubs or weeps.
   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. 2011-04-13, “Nikki Sanderson: from the Street to the stage”, in Evening Standard
   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! 2022-10-24, “The Repair Shop’s Will Kirk and Antiques Road Trip’s Christina Trevanion become The Travelling Auctioneers in idyllic new BBC One series”, in BBC