quibble

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.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkwɪbəl/

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• Rhymes: -ɪbəl

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, paragraph:

     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.

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."

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.

   • 1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter X, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, 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, book II (Flotsam and Jetsam), page 314:

     “I dog no one, Mr. Temple,” I replied bitterly. “We'll not quibble about words,” said he.

   • 2023 July 24, Ryan Mac, Tiffany Hsu, “From Twitter to X: Elon Musk Begins Erasing an Iconic Internet Brand”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     Mr. Musk has shown a disdain toward Twitter’s previous corporate culture. He has quibbled with the number of bird references in the company’s internal team names and products.

2. (informal, rare, transitive) To contest, especially some trivial issue in a petty manner.

   The customer quibbled the bill.

• See Thesaurus:squabble