Etymology

waggle

W4A1G2G2L1E1

Today it means: To move (something) with short, quick motions; to wobble. Full definition →

Middle English wagelen ← Middle Low German wagelen
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The story

  1. Middle Low German · derived fromwagelen
  2. Middle English · inherited fromwagelen
  3. English todaywaggle

From Middle English wagelen (attested in wagelyng), possibly a borrowing of Middle Low German wagelen; equivalent to wag + -le (“(frequentative)”). Compare continental equivalents Middle High German wacken ( > Danish vakle, German wackeln), Swedish vagla, West Frisian waggelje, Low German wackeln, Dutch waggelen.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.