quibbling
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Related to quibbling: teetered
quib·ble
(kwĭb′əl)intr.v. quib·bled, quib·bling, quib·bles
To argue or find fault over trivial matters or minor concerns; cavil.
n.
1. A trivial matter or minor concern raised in arguing or finding fault.
2. Archaic A pun.
[Probably diminutive of obsolete quib, equivocation, perhaps from Latin quibus, dative and ablative pl. of quī, who, what (from its frequent use in legal documents); see kwo- in Indo-European roots.]
quib′bler n.
Synonyms: quibble, carp1, cavil, nitpick
These verbs mean to raise petty or frivolous objections or complaints: quibbling about minor details; a critic who constantly carped; caviling about the price of coffee; tried to stop nitpicking all the time.
These verbs mean to raise petty or frivolous objections or complaints: quibbling about minor details; a critic who constantly carped; caviling about the price of coffee; tried to stop nitpicking all the time.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
quibbling
n → kleinliches Getue (inf); (= petty criticism) → Krittelei f; (= hair-splitting) → Haarspalterei f, → Wortklauberei f; all this quibbling about details → dieses Herumreiten auf Einzelheiten
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007