Meaning

noun an alloy of tin with some copper and antimony; a lining for bearings that reduces friction

verb line with a Babbitt metal

originFrom Babbitt, the surname of George Babbitt, the title character of the novel Babbitt (1922) by the American author Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951). The word was also popularized by the George (1898–1937) and Ira Gershwin (1896–1983) song “The Babbitt and the Bromide”, first featured in the 1927 musical Funny Face and later in the film Ziegfeld Follies (1945).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0