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wobble

 - 4 dictionary results

wob⋅ble

[wob-uhl] verb, -bled, -bling, noun
–verb (used without object)
1. to incline to one side and to the other alternately, as a wheel, top, or other rotating body when not properly balanced.
2. to move unsteadily from side to side: The table wobbled on its uneven legs.
3. to show unsteadiness; tremble; quaver: His voice wobbled.
4. to vacillate; waver.
–verb (used with object)
5. to cause to wobble.
–noun
6. a wobbling movement.
Also, wabble.


Origin:
1650–60; < LG wabbeln; akin to ON vafla to toddle, MHG wabelen to waver, OE wæflian to speak incoherently


wobbler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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wob·ble also wab·ble   (wŏb'əl)   
v.   wob·bled also wab·bled, wob·bling also wab·bling, wob·bles also wab·bles

v.   intr.
  1. To move or rotate with an uneven or rocking motion or unsteadily from side to side.

  2. To tremble or quaver: The child's voice wobbled with emotion.

  3. To waver or vacillate in one's opinions or feelings.

v.   tr.
To cause to wobble.
n.  
  1. The act or an instance of wobbling; unsteady motion.

  2. A tremulous, uncertain tone or sound: a vocal wobble.


[Probably from Low German wabbeln; see webh- in Indo-European roots.]
wob'bler n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

wobble  (v.)
1657, probably from Low Ger. wabbeln "to wobble;" cognate with O.N. vafla "hover about, totter," related to vafra "move unsteadily," from P.Gmc. *wab- "to move back and forth" (see waver). The noun is attested from 1699.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

wobble wob·ble (wŏb'əl)
n.

  1. A movement or rotation with an uneven or rocking motion or an unsteady motion from side to side.

  2. The ability of one tRNA anticodon to recognize two mRNA codons, as in the third base of a tRNA anticodon pairing with any of a variety of bases that occupy the third position of different mRNA codons instead of pairing according to base pairing rules.


wob'bler n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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