wobble [E17th] A German word first used in English in the mid 17th century. Wobble is related to wave [OE] and waver [ME] which come from Old Norse, and until the mid 19th century was generally spelled wabble. Wobbly as a simple adjective dates from the mid 19th century, but as a noun for a panic fit it is first found in 1930, with throw a wobbly from the 1960s. Wave did not come to be used for hair until the early 18th century and the expression to make waves dates only from the 1960s. The wave of the hand is late 17th century Mexican wave describing a wavelike effect when spectators stand, raise their arms, and sit again in successive crowd sections, originated at the World Cup football competition held in Mexico City in 1986.