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Babbitt (n.)

"conventional, complacent, materialistic American businessman," 1923, from the name of the title character of Sinclair Lewis' novel (1922).

His name was George F. Babbitt. He was forty-six years old now, in April 1920, and he made nothing in particular, neither butter nor shoes nor poetry, but he was nimble in the selling of houses for more money than people could afford to pay. [Sinclair Lewis, "Babbitt," 1922]

Earlier the name was used in metallurgy (1857) in reference to a type of soft alloy (1875).

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Definitions of Babbitt from WordNet
1
babbitt (v.)
line with a Babbitt metal;
2
babbitt (n.)
an alloy of tin with some copper and antimony; a lining for bearings that reduces friction;
Synonyms: Babbitt metal
From wordnet.princeton.edu

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