Etymology From Middle English cobill, kobill (used in various combinations with ston, stan (“stone”), note, nutt (“nut”), etc.), probably a diminutive of Middle English *cob, *cobb, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kubb- (“lump; round object”). Equivalent to cob + -le.
1
A cobblestone.
The narrow streets that twist and turn through the compact heart of Dent are surfaced with cobbles which, in the absence of pavements, spread right across from doorstep to doorstep.1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 150:
2
Geography, Geology, Natural sciences A particle from 64 to 256 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.
3
Business, Manufacturing A piece of steel that becomes malformed during its manufacture or rolling.
These men are located near the rolls in a pulpit, which is usually completely inclosed with heavy close-meshed netting or boiler plate, so that if a cobble occurs they will be protected from the rods which fly in all directions on such occasions.1913, Report on Conditions of Employment in the Iron and Steel Industry in the United States, United States Bureau of Labor:
The ideal control which they offer the reversing motor is such, when a cobble might be made in the steel mill, the metal can be handled gently, and very often the ingot saved.1915, Proceedings of Association of Iron & Steel Electrical:
2 more examples
In practical mill work a roller often has to wait days and sometimes weeks before he can catch this condition, as he could not consider the stopping of production while he made a cobble in some particular roll pass that was giving him trouble, and it is mainly by studying the cobbles that the action of the steel can be observed and studied.1919 April, “Rolling Mill Research Laboratory Founded”, in Blast Furnace and Steel Plant, volume 7:
Cameras pointed between stands could be saved for 5 or 7 days, enough to troubleshoot cobble or off-level mills.2009, Vladimir B. Ginzburg, Flat-Rolled Steel Processes: Advanced Technologies, page 231:
Etymology From Middle English cobill, kobill (used in various combinations with ston, stan (“stone”), note, nutt (“nut”), etc.), probably a diminutive of Middle English *cob, *cobb, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kubb- (“lump; round object”). Equivalent to cob + -le.
1
To make shoes (what a cobbler does).
2
To assemble in an improvised way.
I cobbled something together to get us through till morning.