quibble
English
WOTD – 11 March 2012
Etymology
quib + -le. Quib is probably from Latin quibus (“in what respect? how?”), which appeared frequently in legal documents[1] and came to be suggestive of the verbosity and petty argumentation found therein.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkwɪbəl/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪbəl
Noun
quibble (plural quibbles)
- (now rare) A pun. [from 17th c.]
- 1864, Robert Kemp Philp (editor), The Family Friend (page 54)
- Is it a quibble, or play upon words?
- 1870, Richard Grant White, The complete works of Shakspere, with a memoir, and essay:
- This is a quibble between council and counsel. The latter word is still used to imply secrecy; as in the phrase, "keep your own counsel."
- 1864, Robert Kemp Philp (editor), The Family Friend (page 54)
- An objection or argument based on an ambiguity of wording or similar trivial circumstance; a minor complaint. [from 17th c.]
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dispute
- He harped on his quibble about how the dark red paint should be described as carmine rather than burgundy.
- 1741, I[saac] Watts, The Improvement of the Mind: Or, A Supplement to the Art of Logick: […], London: […] James Brackstone, […], OCLC 723474632:
- Quibbles […] have no place in the search after truth.
- 1995 June 27, Michiko Kakutani, “Playing Pygmalion to a Hermeneutic Computer”, in New York Times:
- Toward the end of “Galatea,” there are a few missteps: […] All in all, though, these are minor quibbles.
- 2020 March 25, “Network News: Passengers offered refunds or switched fares”, in Rail, page 7:
- Essentially, we want a commitment to no-quibble refunds, without admin fees, if people who have already paid decide not to travel because of the virus.
Translations
a trivial or minor complaint, objection or argument
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Verb
quibble (third-person singular simple present quibbles, present participle quibbling, simple past and past participle quibbled)
- (informal, intransitive) To complain or argue in a trivial or petty manner.
- They are constantly quibbling over insignificant details.
- 1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter X, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, OCLC 948783829, book (please specify |book=I to VIII):
- “Oh, if you talk in that sense!” said Mr. Standish, with as much disgust at such non-legal quibbling as a man can well betray towards a valuable client.
- 1904 May, Winston Churchill, chapter VI, in The Crossing, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., OCLC 9487546, book II (Flotsam and Jetsam), page 314:
- “I dog no one, Mr. Temple,” I replied bitterly. “We'll not quibble about words,” said he.
- (informal, rare, transitive) To contest, especially some trivial issue in a petty manner.
- The customer quibbled the bill.
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:squabble
Translations
to complain or argue in a trivial or petty manner
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References
- Wheelock's Latin, Frederic M. Wheelock, 6th ed., p. 115