- Today's Word
Quibble
[KWIB-uhl]
Definition
- (verb) To argue or raise objections about a trivial matter or minor point, especially in an attempt to evade a truth or responsibility. As a noun, it refers to the act of raising such an objection or the objection itself.
Example
Instead of addressing the main issue, the politician quibbled over the exact wording of the question, frustrating both the interviewer and the audience.
Fun Fact
The word “quibble” is believed to have originated in the early 17th century. It may be related to the now-obsolete word “quib,” meaning a quip or witty remark. Some linguists suggest it might be connected to the Latin word “quibus,” which was used in legal documents and could be seen as a source of petty arguments. Over time, “quibble” has come to be associated with nitpicking or splitting hairs, often in a way that detracts from the main point of a discussion or argument.
(noun) A complicated and confusing situation that is extremely difficult to escape or make progress through.
What began as a simple contract dispute had become a morass of litigation, counter-claims, and procedural delays that no one involved could see the end of.
Morass derives from the Dutch moeras, meaning “marsh” or “swamp,” itself from the Old French marais — “marsh.” It entered English in the 17th century with its literal meaning of boggy, waterlogged ground before quickly acquiring its figurative sense of any situation that traps and exhausts in the same way a physical swamp does — something that looks passable until you’re already in it and discovering that every step forward costs more than the last.