​RABBLE, a general term for a disorderly crowd, apparently connected with the verb “to rabble,” to talk or work in a confused manner, Du. rabbelen, Ger. dialect rabbeln, cf. Gr. ῥαβάσσειν, to howl. In iron and steel manufacture, a puddling-tool, for stirring the molten metal, is called a “rabble.” This is a different word, adapted from Fr. râble, for roable, Med. Lat. rotabulum, Lat. rutabulum (ruere, to rake), a fire-shovel or oven rake.