quibble

quibble (ˈkwɪb^əl)

—vb
1.	to make trivial objections; prevaricate
2.	archaic to play on words; pun

—n
3.	a trivial objection or equivocation, esp one used to avoid an issue
4.	archaic a pun

[C17: probably from obsolete quib, perhaps from Latin quibus (from quī who, which), as used in legal documents, with reference to their obscure phraseology]

'quibbler

—n

'quibbling

—*adj*, —n

'quibblingly

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

quibble

1611, "a pun, a play on words," probably a dim. of quib "evasion of point at issue" (c.1550), from L. quibus "by what (things)?," dative and ablative plural of quid "what," neut. of quis (see who). The word's overuse in legal jargon supposedly gave it the association with trivial

argument. Meaning "equivocation, evasion of the point" is attested from 1670. The verb in this sense is from 1656.

Example sentences

All right, this is a quibble over a small place with multiple personalities.

These kind backers rarely quibble over the network's content.

Our only quibble would be that he may not have gone far enough.

Even the snootiest design snob wouldn't quibble with those choices.

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Matching Quote

"Let's not quibble! I'm the foe of moderation, the champion of excess. If I may lift a line from a die-hard whose identity is lost in the shuffle, "I'd rather be strongly wrong than weakly right.""

-Tallulah Bankhead