different between obstacle vs cavil

English

Etymology

From Middle English obstacle, from Old French obstacle, from Latin obst?culum.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??bst?kl?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??bst?kl?/
• Hyphenation: ob?sta?cle

Noun

obstacle (plural obstacles)

1. Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress

   A big obstacle to understanding the manual was that it had been poorly translated from the Japanese.

Synonyms

• impediment
• hindrance
• hurdle
• barrier
• complication
• snag
• See also Thesaurus:hindrance

Translations

Anagrams

• Casebolt, costable

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin obst?culum.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /ops?ta.kl?/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /ups?ta.kl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ops?ta.kle/

Noun

obstacle m (plural obstacles)

1. obstacle

Derived terms

• obstaculitzar

Further reading

• “obstacle” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin obstaculum, from obst?

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p.stakl/

Noun

obstacle m (plural obstacles)

1. obstacle

Derived terms

• course d'obstacles
• faire obstacle
• saut d'obstacles

Further reading

• “obstacle” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Alternative forms

• (17th–18th centuries; verb senses only): cavel, cavell

Etymology

From Old French caviller (“mock, jest, rail”), from Latin cavillor (“jeer, mock, satirise, reason captiously”), from cavilla (“jeering, raillery, scoffing”); cognate with Italian cavillare, Portuguese cavillar, and Spanish cavilar; nominal usage developed within English from the original verbal usage.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /?kæv.?l/, /?kæv.?l/
• Rhymes: -æv?l

Verb

cavil (third-person singular simple present cavils, present participle (UK) cavilling or (US) caviling, simple past and past participle (UK) cavilled or (US) caviled)

1. (intransitive) To criticise for petty or frivolous reasons.

   Synonyms: be hypercritical, nitpick, pettifog, split hairs

   • 1598?, William Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act I, scene I:

     'Tis love you cavil at: I am not Love.

Translations

Noun

cavil (plural cavils)

1. A petty or trivial objection or criticism.

Translations

References

Anagrams

• clavi, lavic