frob
frob · frobs
Any small device or object which can be manipulatedAny small device or object (usually hand-sized) which can be manipulated.
Meaning
1 senses(slang)Any small device or object (usually hand-sized) which can be manipulated.
Hand me that frob there, will you?
Origin
Clipping of frobnicate, from frobnitz, coined circa 1958 by David R. Sawyer of the MIT TecClipping of frobnicate, from frobnitz, coined circa 1958 by David R. Sawyer of the MIT Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC). Year of origin uncertain, and could be 1958–1981: frob is not listed in the TMRC dictionaries of 1959 or 1960, and is first listed in the Jargon File (1981 edition), so it may date from the 1960s or 1970s. Possibly variant of or influenced by frotsus (“a protruding arm or trunnion”), which is listed in TMRC 1959 and 1960.
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