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Webster 1913 Edition

Wabble

Wab′ble

(wŏb′b’l)
,
Verb.
I.
[Cf. Prov. G.
wabbeln
to wabble, and E.
whap
. Cf.
Quaver
.]
To move staggeringly or unsteadily from one side to the other; to vacillate; to move the manner of a rotating disk when the axis of rotation is inclined to that of the disk; – said of a turning or whirling body;
as, a top
wabbles
; a buzz saw
wabbles
.

Wab′ble

,
Noun.
A hobbling, unequal motion, as of a wheel unevenly hung; a staggering to and fro.

Webster 1828 Edition

Wabble

WABBLE

,
Verb.
I.
To move from one side to the other; to vacillate; as a turning or whirling body. So it is said a top wabbles, when it is in motion, and deviates from a perpendicular direction; a spindle wabbles, when it moves one way and the other. [This word is applied chiefly to bodies when turning with a circular motion, and its place canot be supplied by any other word in the language. It is neither low nor barbarous.]

Definition 2024

wabble

wabble

English

Verb

wabble ‎(third-person singular simple present wabbles, present participle wabbling, simple past and past participle wabbled)

  1. wobble, move to and fro
    • 1911, Milo Hastings, In the Clutch of the War-God:
      Their planes wabble, the metal frame work is too stiff, it doesn't yield to the air pressure."
    • 1966, Ambrose Bierce, The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8:
      Presently, as the sustaining centrifugal force lessened and failed, she began to sway and wabble from side to side, and finally, toppling over on her side, rolled convulsively on her back and lay motionless with all her feet in the air, honestly believing that the world had somehow got atop of her and she was supporting it at a great sacrifice of personal comfort.

Anagrams

Etymology

Compare German dialect wabbeln ‎(“to wabble”), and English whap. Compare quaver.

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