quibble

English

WOTD – 11 March 2012, 11 March 2013, 11 March 2014, 11 March 2015

Etymology

Origin uncertain. Possibly from quib (“quibble”, noun) +‎ -le (diminutive ending). 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; or perhaps an alteration of quip. Alternatively, perhaps related to dialectal Dutch kwebbelen (“to speak quickly and continuously, chatter”). Compare also Scots wheebele (“a quibble”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkwɪbəl/
  • Audio (Australia):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪbəl

Noun

quibble (plural quibbles)

  1. An argument or objection 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:
      Quibbles […] have no place in the search after truth.
    • 1960 February, M. D. Greville and G. O. Holt, “Railway Development in Preston—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 96:
      As the two railways were to meet end-on, providing a continuous line from Parkside to Lancaster, it would have been expected that they would work together harmoniously for their common interests, but the quibble over the connection strained the relationship from the beginning.
    • 1995 June 27, Michiko Kakutani, “Playing Pygmalion to a Hermeneutic Computer”, in The New York Times‎[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 12 August 2025:
      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.
  2. (archaic) 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."

Translations

Verb

quibble (third-person singular simple present quibbles, present participle quibbling, simple past and past participle quibbled)

  1. (informal, intransitive) To complain or argue in a trivial or petty manner.
    They are constantly quibbling over insignificant details.
  2. (informal, rare, transitive) To contest, especially some trivial issue in a petty manner.
    The customer quibbled the bill.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ^ Wheelock's Latin, Frederic M. Wheelock, 6th ed., p. 115
This page is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.