whiffle

whiffle

English

Alternative forms

• wiffle

Etymology

1662, in sense “flutter as blown by wind”,[1] as whiff +‎ -le (“(frequentative)”) and (onomatopoeia) sound of wind, particularly a leaf fluttering in unsteady wind; compare whiff. Sense “something small or insignificant” is from 1680.[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)wɪfl̩/
• Rhymes: -ɪfəl

Noun

whiffle (plural whiffles)

1. A short blow or gust
2. (obsolete) Something small or insignificant; a trifle.
3. (obsolete) A fife or small flute.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Douce to this entry?)

Verb

whiffle (third-person singular simple present whiffles, present participle whiffling, simple past and past participle whiffled)

1. to blow a short gust
2. to waffle, talk aimlessly
3. (Britain) to waste time
4. to travel quickly, whizz, whistle, with an accompanying wind-like sound
5. (ornithology, of a bird) to descend rapidly from a height once the decision to land has been made, involving fast side-slipping first one way and then the other
6. (intransitive) To waver, or shake, as if moved by gusts of wind; to shift, turn, or veer about.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Dampier to this entry?)

7. (transitive) To wave or shake quickly; to cause to whiffle.
8. To change from one opinion or course to another; to use evasions; to prevaricate; to be fickle.
   • I. Watts

     A person of whiffling and unsteady turn of mind cannot keep close to a point of controversy.

9. To disperse with, or as with, a whiff, or puff; to scatter.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Dr. H. More to this entry?)

Derived terms

• wiffleball

References

1. “whiffle” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.