Cobbled

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Created by joining together small stones or bricks to form a durable surface
2. Constructed by fitting together small stones or bricks tightly to form a robust surface
3. Formed from numerous small, roughly shaped stones or bricks arranged closely to build a solid area

Etymology: The past tense of "cobble" describes a road or square laid with rounded stones, and the verb's roots lie in a word for a lump. Middle English speakers used "cobill" in compounds like "cobble stone" for the smooth, rounded stones gathered from riverbeds and beaches. Those stones were naturally rounded, so the name stressed their shape rather than their use. The word is probably a diminutive of an older noun "cob," which described a round lump or rounded object. That base traces back to a Proto-Germanic root meaning "lump" or "round object," and it has relatives in the North Germanic languages, where similar words could mean a bulge, a heap, or even a bowler hat. Adding the diminutive ending gave the sense of a small rounded thing, and paving with such stones took the word from the object to the action.

Synonyms: patched, mended, repaired, assembled, constructed