Cobbler
Middle English: of unknown origin.
wiktionary
From Middle English cobeler, cobelere(“mender of shoes, cobbler”)[and other forms]; [1] further origin unknown. The word appears to be derived from an early form of cobble(“to mend roughly, patch; (specifically) to mend shoes, especially roughly”) + -er( suffix forming agent nouns), but is attested much earlier than the verb which suggests that the verb may be a back-formation from cobbler. [2] [3]
Sense 2 (“sheep left to the end to be sheared”) is a pun on cobbler’s last(“tool for shaping or preserving the shape of shoes”); [2] while sense 3 (“clumsy workman”) is derived from cobble + -er: see above.
Origin uncertain; it has been suggested that the word derives from cobbler’s punch(“warm drink made of beer with added spirit, sugar, and spices”), or because the drink patches up(“repairs; makes better”) the drinker. [2]
From cobble(“rounded stone used for paving roads, cobblestone”) + -er( suffix forming agent nouns). Cobble is from Late Middle English, from cobbe(“head or leader; gangleader; bully (?); male swan, cob; the head; something rounded or in the form of a lump”) [4] + -le, -el( suffix forming diminutives). [5] [6] The further etymology of cobbe is uncertain; it is perhaps a variant of cop(“the top of something (a house, tower, mountain, tree, etc.); crown or top of the head; the head”), [7] from Old English cop, copp(“summit, top; cup, vessel”), from Proto-Germanic *kuppaz(“round object, orb; knoll; hilltop, summit; crown or top of the head; head; skull; bowl; container, vessel”), from Proto-Indo-European *gup-(“round object; knoll”), from *gew-(“to bend, curve; an arch, vault”). However, this is doubted by the Oxford English Dictionary. [8]
Probably a variant of or related to cob, cobb(“stony fruit kernel; nut used in the game of conkers, conker; game of conkers”), [9] perhaps from Middle English cobbe(“head or leader; gangleader; bully (?); male swan, cob; the head; something rounded or in the form of a lump”): see further at etymology 3.
Origin unknown. [10]
etymonline
cobbler (n.1)
late 14c., (late late 13c. in surnames and place names), cobelere "one who mends shoes," of uncertain origin. It and cobble (v.) "evidently go together etymologically" [OED], but the historical record presents some difficulties. "The cobbler should stick to his last" (ne sutor ultra crepidam) is from the anecdote of Greek painter Apelles.
On one occasion a cobbler noticed a fault in the painting of a shoe, and remarking upon it to a person standing by, passed on. As soon as the man was out of sight Apelles came from his hiding-place, examined the painting, found that the cobbler's criticism was just, and at once corrected the error. ... The cobbler came by again and soon discovered that the fault he had pointed out had been remedied; and, emboldened by the success of his criticism, began to express his opinion pretty freely about the painting of the leg! This was too much for the patience of the artist, who rushed from his hiding place and told the cobbler to stick to his shoes. [William Edward Winks, "Lives of Illustrious Shoemakers," London, 1883]
[The tale is variously told, and the quote is variously reported: Pliny ("Natural History" XXXV.x.36) has ne supra crepidam judicaret, while Valerius Maximus (VIII.xiii.3) gives supra plantam ascendere vetuit. The version cited here confessedly is for the sake of the book name]
cobbler (n.2)
"deep-dish fruit pie with thick, scone-like crust," 1859, American English, perhaps related to 14c. cobeler "wooden bowl or dish," which is of uncertain origin, or perhaps its shape simply reminded people of a cobblestone. Earlier cobbler was the name of a summer long drink made from wine or liqueur, crushed ice, and fruit slices (1809, in Washington Irving), which is sometimes said to be a shortening of cobbler's punch, but that term is not attested until 1847.
