cavil
[ kav-uhl ]
/ ˈkæv əl /
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verb (used without object), cav·iled, cav·il·ing or (especially British) cav·illed, cav·il·ling.
to raise irritating and trivial objections; find fault with unnecessarily (usually followed by at or about): He finds something to cavil at in everything I say.
verb (used with object), cav·iled, cav·il·ing or (especially British) cav·illed, cav·il·ling.
to oppose by inconsequential, frivolous, or sham objections: to cavil each item of a proposed agenda.
noun
a trivial and annoying objection.
the raising of such objections.
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Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?
First appeared around 1750, and is related to the French word “braguette” for the name of codpiece armor.
First appeared in 1610, based on the French word “baguette” for the long loaf of bread.
First appeared in 1555, and is related to the French word “raquette” for a netted bat.
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Origin of cavil
1540–50; <Latin cavillārī to jeer, scoff, quibble, verbal derivative of cavilla jesting, banter
OTHER WORDS FROM cavil
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for cavil
British Dictionary definitions for cavil
cavil
/ (ˈkævɪl) /
verb -ils, -illing or -illed or US -ils, -iling or -iled
(intr; foll by at or about) to raise annoying petty objections; quibble; carp
noun
a captious trifling objection
Derived forms of cavil
caviller, nouncavilling, adjectiveWord Origin for cavil
C16: from Old French caviller, from Latin cavillārī to jeer, from cavilla raillery
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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