"familiar talk or conversation, chatting," 1701, colloquial shortening of confabulation. Mocking variant conflab is attested from 1852, American English. From 1741 as a verb. Related: Confabbing.
Entries linking to confab
confabulation n.
"a talking together, chatting, familiar talk," mid-15c., from Late Latin confabulationem (nominative confabulatio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin confabulari "to converse together," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + fabulari "to talk, chat," from fabula "a tale" (from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say").