different between quibble vs quillet

English

Etymology

quib +? -le. Quib is probably from Latin quibus (“in what respect? how?”), which appeared frequently in legal documents and came to be suggestive of the verbosity and petty argumentation found therein.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?kw?b?l/
• Rhymes: -?b?l

Noun

quibble (plural quibbles)

1. (now rare) A pun. [from 17th c.]
   • 1864, Robert Kemp Philp (editor), The Family Friend (page 54)

     Is it a quibble, or play upon words?
2. An objection or argument based on an ambiguity of wording or similar trivial circumstance; a minor complaint. [from 17th c.]
   • Quibbles […] have no place in the search after truth.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:dispute

Translations

Verb

quibble (third-person singular simple present quibbles, present participle quibbling, simple past and past participle quibbled)

1. (informal, intransitive) To complain or argue in a trivial or petty manner.

   They are constantly quibbling over insignificant details.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:squabble

Translations

References

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?kw?l?t/

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Possibly a shortening of earlier quillity, itself of uncertain origin, or from Latin quidlibet (“anything”).

Noun

quillet (plural quillets)

1. A quibble, an evasive distinction.

Etymology 2

Uncertain. Possibly from Anglo-Norman/Old French cueillette (“uncultivated strip of land for the gathering of herbs, berries, snails, etc.”).

Noun

quillet (plural quillets)

1. (now regional) A small plot of land; historically: a strip of land that together with others like it formed a larger field.

Synonyms

• croft