ramble
n.n. a long, informal talk or piece of writing that goes off in many different directions. It is often used when someone is speaking without a clear plan.
n. a long, informal, and often meandering speech or piece of writing. Frequently used to describe a lack of structure or a tendency to drift from the main topic.
The professor gave a long ramble about his summer holiday.
I tried to ask a specific question, but he just gave me a long ramble about his new car.
The essay was a ramble through various historical events without ever providing a clear thesis or connecting the dots between the different periods.
An altered form (with dissimilation of mm to mb) of dialectal rammle, from Middle English ramlen, ramelen, frequentative of Middle English ramen (“to roam, ramble”); compare Swedish ramla (“to stumble; fall; make a noise; rumble”), Danish ramle (“to stumble; collapse; thunder; boom”); equivalent to roam + -le. "mid-15 c., perhaps frequentative of 'romen' 'to walk, go' perhaps via 'romblen' (late 14 c.) 'to ramble.' The vowel change perhaps by influence of Middle Dutch 'rammelen,' a derivative of 'rammen' 'copulate,' 'used of the night wanderings of the amorous cat.' Meaning 'to talk or write incoherently' is from 1630s".