rabble

[ rab-uh l ]

/ ˈræb əl /

noun

a disorderly crowd; mob.

the rabble, the lower classes; the common people: The nobility held the rabble in complete contempt.

verb (used with object), rab·bled, rab·bling.

to beset as a rabble does; mob.

Nearby words

rabbiter, rabbitfish, rabbiting, rabbitoh, rabbitry, rabble, rabble-rouse, rabble-rouser, rabble-rousing, rabblement, rabe

Origin of rabble

1350–1400; Middle English rabel (noun), of uncertain origin

Definition for rabbling (2 of 2)

rabble

[ rab-uh l ]

/ ˈræb əl /

Metallurgy

noun

a tool or mechanically operated device used for stirring or mixing a charge in a roasting furnace.

verb (used with object), rab·bled, rab·bling.

to stir (a charge) in a roasting furnace.

Origin of rabble

1655–65; < French râble fire-shovel, tool, Middle French raable < Latin rutābulum implement for shifting hot coals, equivalent to *rutā(re) presumed frequentative of ruere to churn up, disturb + -bulum suffix of instrument

Related forms

rab·bler, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rabbling

They had abolished patronage; they had sanctioned the rabbling of the episcopal clergy; they had refused to pass a Toleration Act.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
One of the worst cases of rabbling, which the Episcopalians described as a tragedy, took place at Kirkpatrick in Annandale.
The Early History of the Scottish Union Question|George W. T. Omond
There are several modifications of the reverberatory furnace in use, designed mechanically to effect the rabbling.
Getting Gold|J. C. F. Johnson
It is then turned on full, and a violent boiling action is maintained without any rabbling.
The Galaxy, Volume 23, No. 2, February, 1877|Various

Hamilton insisted that the question, should be, "Approve or not approve the rabbling?"
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay

British Dictionary definitions for rabbling (1 of 2)

rabble

/ (ˈræbəl) /

noun

a disorderly crowd; mob

the rabble derogatory the common people

Word Origin for rabble

C14 (in the sense: a pack of animals): of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Middle Dutch rabbelen to chatter, rattle

British Dictionary definitions for rabbling (2 of 2)

rabble

/ (ˈræbəl) /

noun

Also called: rabbler an iron tool or mechanical device for stirring, mixing, or skimming a molten charge in a roasting furnace

verb

(tr) to stir, mix, or skim (the molten charge) in a roasting furnace

Word Origin for rabble

C17: from French râble, from Latin rutābulum rake for a furnace, from ruere to rake, dig up

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012