bib: [16] The word bib is first mentioned in John Baret’s Quadruple dictionarie 1580, where it is described as being ‘for a child’s breast’. It appears to come from the now archaic verb bib (as in wine-bibber), perhaps from the notion that the bib protects the baby’s clothes as it drinks. The verb itself is possibly from Latin bibere ‘drink’, source of beer, beverage, bibulous, and imbibe. => beer, bibulous, imbibe
linen worn over the breast while eating, 1570s, from verb bibben "to drink" (late 14c.), imitative of lip sounds, or else from Latin bibere (see imbibe), but difficult now to say whether this is because it was worn while drinking or because it "soaked up" spills.
