baba

IPA: bˈʌbʌ

A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.
(especially among people of East European ancestry) A grandmother.
An old woman, especially a traditional old woman from an eastern European culture.
(especially among people of Indian or Chinese ancestry) A father.
(Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism) A holy man, a spiritual leader.
(British India) A baby, child.
In baby talk, often used for a variety of words beginning with b, such as bottle or blanket.

Examples of "baba" in Sentences

Audio file: listen to Jean-Marc pronounce the French word baba cool and read the example sentence above: Download baba_cool.wav
Audio file: listen to Jean-Marc pronounce the French word baba cool and read the example sentence (above): Download baba_cool. wav
I will say that in some places the eggpant-tahini dip is called baba ganoush and in some places it's called moutabbal, so confusion is understandable.
In fact, until Caleb lost his bottle, he slept just fine, possibly because the baba was his "cue" to stop thinking and fall asleep, and he needs a new "cue".
In one of the culinary curiosities of the Middle East, eggplant and tahini dip is called baba ghanoush all over Lebanon, and as soon as you cross the border into Syria it's called moutabal.