fiddler

[ fid-ler ]

/ ˈfɪd lər /

noun

a person who plays a fiddle.

a person who dawdles or trifles.

Nearby words

fiddle-faddle, fiddle-footed, fiddleback, fiddleback spider, fiddlehead, fiddler, fiddler beetle, fiddler crab, fiddlerfish, fiddlestick, fiddlesticks

Origin of fiddler

before 1100; Middle English, Old English fithelere; cognate with Dutch vedelaar, German Fiedler. See fiddle, -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fiddler

Almost all involved with the creation of Fiddler on the Roof had familial ties to the world Sholem Aleichem described.
The Strange Power of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’|Jen Vafidis|October 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And near the end of the play, Seguin offered an allusion to Fiddler on the Roof, yelling, “Sunrise, sunset!”
Chaz Bono’s ‘Independence Day’: Strippers, Racism & More Crazy Moments|Anna Klassen|June 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The dancing had finished, and a little group was gathered around the fiddler's tub.
A Son of Hagar|Sir Hall Caine
A Redgauntlet would have died twenty times before he had touched a fiddler's wages.'
Red Gauntlet|Sir Walter Scott

They had plenty of meat and drink, and plied the fiddler and his man with more than was agreeable to them.
Irish Wit and Humor|Anonymous
I know what it was when Fiddler's Ranch was far from the civilization of Violinia, as they call it now.
The Long Vacation|Charlotte M. Yonge
“We can't have a ball without a fiddler,” one young man said, soberly.
Madelon|Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

British Dictionary definitions for fiddler

fiddler

/ (ˈfɪdlə) /

noun

a person who plays the fiddle, esp in folk music

See fiddler crab

a person who wastes time or acts aimlessly

informal a cheat or petty rogue

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fiddler

fiddler

late 13c., from Old English fiðelere "fiddler" (fem. fiðelestre), agent noun from fiddle (v.). Fiddler's Green first recorded 1825, from sailors' slang. Fiddler crab is from 1714.