Wobbler

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or thing that moves unsteadily or shakes ; a crime whose charge can be either serious or minor depending on circumstances
2. An individual or object that displays unsteady or shaky motion ; an offense flexible in charge level between more and less severe punishments
3. One who or that which exhibits a swaying, trembling, or unstable movement ; a type of crime that prosecutors may treat as a major or minor violation

Etymology: The word "wobbler" is a simple formation: the verb "wobble" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, so it means one that wobbles. The verb "wobble" is itself a fairly late arrival in English, and the sense of a thing that moves unsteadily or rocks from side to side was built directly on it. The suffix is the more interesting part of the story. The "-er" ending traces back through Middle English and Old English "-ere" and, further still, to the Latin "-arius," which carried the sense of a person or thing connected with something. Old French took that Latin ending as "-ier," and English later reshaped it into "-er." Its journey through Germanic and Romance languages means that the same small ending turns up on countless English agent nouns, from "baker" to "teacher."

Synonyms: swaying object, unstable thing

Antonyms: stable object