cavil
verb/ˈkæv.əl/US
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.
Definitions
To criticise for petty or frivolous reasons.
- 'Tis love you cavil at: I am not Love.
- I wish you wouldn't cavil, Hilda.
A petty or trivial objection or criticism.
- It is not worth while to spend your time in arguing against a cavil, but make him feel he is committing a sin to plead it, and thus enlist his conscience on your side.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for cavil. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA