Astronomy. to cause perturbation in the orbit of (a celestial body).
Origin: 1325–75; Middle English perturben (< Old French perturber) < Latin perturbāre to throw into confusion, equivalent to per-per- + turbāre to disturb; see turbid
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
late 14c. (implied in perturbation), probably via O.Fr. perturber (14c.), from L. perturbare "to confuse, disorder, disturb," from per- "through" + turbare "disturb, confuse," from turba "turmoil, crowd" (see turbid).