Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
quibble — [n] objection, complaint artifice, cavil, criticism, dodge, duplicity, equivocation, evasion, hair splitter*, nicety, niggle*, nit picker*, pretense, prevarication, protest, quiddity, quirk, shift, sophism, subterfuge, subtlety; concepts 46,52… … New thesaurus
quibble — [kwib′əl] n. [dim. < obs. quib < L quibus, abl. pl. of qui, which, WHO: quibus was common in legal documents] 1. Obs. a play on words; pun 2. an evasion of the main point as by emphasizing some petty detail; cavil 3. a petty objection or… … English World dictionary
Quibble — Quib ble, n. [Probably fr. quib, quip, but influenced by quillet, or quiddity.] 1. A shift or turn from the point in question; a trifling or evasive distinction; an evasion; a cavil. [1913 Webster] Quibbles have no place in the search after truth … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Quibble — Quib ble, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Quibbled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Quibbling}.] 1. To evade the point in question by artifice, play upon words, caviling, or by raising any insignificant or impertinent question or point; to trifle in argument or… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Quibble — (engl., spr. Kwibbl), Wortsspiel, Zweideutigkeit, Witzelei … Pierer's Universal-Lexikon
Quibble — (Kwibbl), engl., Wortspiel; Witzelei; Zweideutigkeit … Herders Conversations-Lexikon
quibble — I verb bicker, cavil, contend with, differ, disagree, dispute, dissent, equivocate, fence, haggle, join issue, oppose, palter, quarrel, tergiversate, wrangle II index equivocate, haggle, prevaricate, tergiversate … Law dictionary
quibble — ► NOUN 1) a slight objection or criticism. 2) archaic a pun. ► VERB ▪ argue about a trivial matter. ORIGIN from obsolete quib «a petty objection», probably from Latin quibus, from qui, quae, quod who, what, which , frequently used in legal… … English terms dictionary
quibble — I n. a minor quibble II v. (D; intr.) to quibble about, over; with (to quibble about trifles) * * * [ kwɪb(ə)l] over with (to quibble about trifles) (D; intr.) to quibble about a minor quibble … Combinatory dictionary
quibble — quib|ble1 [ˈkwıbəl] v to argue about small unimportant details quibble about/over ▪ Let s not quibble over minor details. quibble 2 quibble2 [i]n [Date: 1600 1700; Origin: Probably from quib quibble (16 17 centuries), probably from Latin quibus… … Dictionary of contemporary English
quibble — {{11}}quibble (n.) 1610s, a pun, a play on words, probably a dim. of QUIB (Cf. quib) evasion of point at issue (c.1550); that word s overuse in legal jargon supposedly gave it the association with trivial argument. Meaning equivocation, evasion… … Etymology dictionary
