Quantcast
 
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Nearby Words

footle

 - 3 dictionary results

foot⋅le

  [foot-l] verb, -led, -ling, noun Informal.
–verb (used without object)
1. to act or talk in a foolish or silly way.
–noun
2. nonsense; foolishness; silliness.
Use footle in a Sentence
Origin:
1890–95; orig. uncert.; cf. footy
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To footle
foo·tle   (fōōt'l)   
intr.v.   foo·tled, foo·tling, foo·tles

  1. To waste time; trifle.

  2. To talk nonsense.

n.  Nonsense; foolishness.

[Probably variant of footer, to screw around, from obsolete fouter, an act of sexual intercourse, from French foutre, to have sexual intercourse, from Latin futuere; see bhau- in Indo-European roots.]
foo'tler n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

footle 
"to trifle," 1892, from dial. footer "to trifle," footy "mean, paltry" (1752), probably from Fr. se foutre "to care nothing," from O.Fr. foutre "to fuck," from L. futuere, originally "to strike, thrust" (cf. confute). But O.E.D. derives the Eng. dial. words from foughty (1600), from Du. vochtig or Dan. fugtig "damp, musty;" related to fog.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see footle on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
ExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyThe Daily BeastUrbanspoonAsk AnswersBloglinesSendori