Wiggler

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An item or organism that is distinguished by its twisting or squirming motions exhibits flexibility in its movements and is often associated with certain playful or biological entities
2. A creature or item characterized by its ability to twist and squirm is often playful in nature or associated with specific biological functions
3. A small living thing or object known for its twisting, squirming motions ; a common informal name for an electronic probing tool used in circuit testing

Etymology: "Wiggler" is simply "wiggle" with the agent suffix "-er", meaning one that wiggles. The verb "wiggle" has Old English roots in the sense of moving quickly from side to side, and it has long been used for wriggling motion, the kind a worm or a child on a chair produces. The suffix does most of the work here. English "-er" traces back through Middle English and Old English, where the ending "-ere" marked a person or thing that performs an action, and it reached English partly through Old French "-ier" from Latin "-arius." Attaching it to a verb is one of the most productive habits in the language, so "wiggler" follows the same pattern as "runner" or "sprinkler." The word is most often used for the creature or object that twists and squirms, which is why it turns up in playful toy names and in descriptions of animals whose movement is their defining feature.

Synonyms: wriggler, squirming creature, wiggling thing, undulating object, slithering being