fiddle
nounEtymology
From Middle English fithele, from Old English *fiþele, from Proto-West Germanic *fiþulā, from Proto-Germanic *fiþulǭ (“fiddle”), of uncertain etymology. Some contest that the Germanic terms are borrowed variations of Late Latin vitula (see viola); others contest that the word has a separate origin within Germanic languages, and still others believe that the Late Latin term for the stringed instrument is a borrowing from Germanic as a change of Latin t to Germanic þ is highly improbable, yet Germanic þ to Latin t is well documented (see troop, trousers, Teobaldo, etc.). Cognate with Old High German fidula (German Fiedel), Middle Dutch vedele (Dutch vedel, veel), Old Norse fiðla (Icelandic fiðla, Danish fiddel, Norwegian fela, Swedish fela). The change from /ðl/ to /dl/ in modern English is regular; compare Bedlam, staddle, swaddle (in brothel, it was prevented; see that entry for discussion).
Definitions
A violin, a small unfretted stringed instrument with four strings tuned (lowest to…
A violin, a small unfretted stringed instrument with four strings tuned (lowest to highest) G-D-A-E, usually held against the chin, shoulder, chest or on the upper thigh and played with a bow (see also usage notes below).
- ...Of harpe & of salteriun. of fiðele & of coriun...
- Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard 'Cause Hell's broke loose in Georgia an' the Devil deals the cards...
- When I play it like this, it's a fiddle; when I play it like that, it's a violin.
Any of various other bowed stringed instruments, particularly those of the violin family…
Any of various other bowed stringed instruments, particularly those of the violin family when played non-classically.
- The fiddle of these early times, however, was the viol and not our modern violin.
A violinist, or fiddler, in a band.
- He is first fiddle in the band.
›+ 13 more definitionsshow fewer
Something resembling a violin, or fiddle, in shape
A clown
A clown; an unserious person entertaining a group.
- You would not have your Son the Fiddle to every jovial Company.
Unskillful or unartful behavior, particularly when showy and superficially pleasing.
- There was some kind of fiddle going on at that company, and several of the directors were arrested.
- Says Bevin: 'I want peace... and we shan't get it unless we deal with one another as friends. I will be a party to no fiddles.'
- I know you'll think this is one of my fiddles. At my last parish we raffled a horse and trap,... a clothes horse and a mousetrap.
Any rail or device that prevents items from sliding off a table, stove, etc. in rough…
Any rail or device that prevents items from sliding off a table, stove, etc. in rough water.
An arrest warrant.
A watchman's rattle.
A trifling amount.
- Done at a fiddle.
To play the fiddle or violin, particularly in a folk or country style.
- to fiddle while Rome burns
- Themistocles […] said he could not fiddle, but yet he could make a small town a great city.
To fraudulently manipulate (records, accounts, etc.) in order to cheat or swindle.
- Fred was sacked when the auditors caught him fiddling the books.
To fidget or play
To fidget or play; to fuss; to idly amuse oneself, to act aimlessly, idly, or frivolously, particularly out of nervousness or restlessness; see also fiddle with.
- Sit up straight and stop fiddling!
- Loke you fydell nat with your handes whan your maister speketh to you.
- […] talking, and fiddling with their hats and feathers […]
Synonym of tinker (“to make small adjustments or improvements”)
Synonym of tinker (“to make small adjustments or improvements”); see also fiddle with.
- I don't exactly know how to fix this lawnmower; I'm really just fiddling.
To do odd jobs for money.
Synonym of fiddlesticks or euphemism for fuck.
- Oh, fiddle. I left my whip in the stable.
The neighborhood
Derived
Apache fiddle, bass fiddle, bull fiddle, face as long as a fiddle, face like a fiddle, face made of a fiddle, fiddleback, fiddleback wood, fiddle beetle, fiddle block, fiddle-boat, fiddle-bow, fiddle-brained, fiddle brake, fiddle-case, fiddlecome, fiddle-come-faddle, fiddledeedee, fiddle-dock, fiddle-drill, fiddle-fabricant, fiddle face, fiddle-faced, fiddle factor, fiddle-faddle, fiddle-fancier, fiddle-fish, fiddle-flanked, fiddle-footed, fiddle-grass, fiddlehead, fiddle-holder, fiddle idol, fiddleist, fiddleleaf, fiddle-lipped, fiddle-lore, fiddle-lover, fiddle-make, fiddle-maker · +50 more
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for fiddle. 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