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waffling

 - 4 dictionary results

waf⋅fle

2  [wof-uhl] verb, -fled, -fling, noun Informal.
–verb (used without object)
1. to speak or write equivocally: to waffle on an important issue.
–verb (used with object)
2. to speak or write equivocally about: to waffle a campaign promise.
–noun
3. waffling language.
Use waffling in a Sentence
Origin:
1890–95; orig. dial. (Scots, N England): to wave about, flutter, waver, be hesitant; prob. waff + -le

Related forms:
waffler, noun
waf⋅fling⋅ly, adverb
waffly, adjective

waf⋅fle

3  [wof-uhl]
–verb (used without object), -fled, -fling. British.
to talk foolishly or without purpose; idle away time talking.
Origin:
1695–1705; orig. dial. (N England); appar. waff to bark, yelp (imit.) + -le
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To waffling
waf·fle 2   (wŏf'əl)   
v.   waf·fled, waf·fling, waf·fles

v.   intr.
To speak or write evasively.
v.   tr.
To speak, write, or act evasively about.
n.  Evasive or vague speech or writing.

[Probably frequentative of obsolete waff, to yelp, probably of imitative origin.]
waf'fler n., waf'fling·ly adv., waf'fly adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

waffle  (v.)
1698, "to yelp, bark," frequentative of waff "to yelp" (1610); possibly of imitative origin. Figurative sense of "talk foolishly" (1701) led to that of "vacillate, equivocate" (1803), originally a Scottish and northern Eng. usage.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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