Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

veeblefetzer
     
         /vee'b*l-fetz'*/ (Or "veeblefeetzer"?) A purposely
        nonsensical sounding word applied to any sort of obscure or
        complicated object, e.g. a piece of computer code, model
        railroad equipment, auto parts, etc.
     
        The more immediate origin of the word is "Mad" Magazine.  In
        the late 1950s and early 1960s it used the word along the same
        lines, especially in its send-ups of big business.  "North
        American Veeblefetzer" was the subject of satires of an annual
        reports, an in-house newsletter, and more.  A Veeblefetzer, in
        their case, was a robot-like device that did something or
        other.
     
        The more distant source was probably a 19th century yiddish
        word, possibly with limited usage.  In German, "Fetzer" is any
        contraption, while "Veeble" is a likely corruption of "Webel"
        -- meaning weaving.  Textile mills of this period were crammed
        with very complicated, wildly active and very loud pieces of
        machinery.
     
        See also {veeblefester}.
     
        [veeblefeetzer or veeblefetzer?]
     
        (1996-03-31)