finagle or fe·na·gle [fi-ney -guh l]
Word Origin
See more synonyms for finagle on Thesaurus.com verb (used with object), fi·na·gled, fi·na·gling. to trick, swindle, or cheat (a person) (often followed by out of ): He finagled the backers out of a fortune. to get or achieve (something) by guile, trickery, or manipulation: to finagle an assignment to the Membership Committee. Show More
verb (used without object), fi·na·gled, fi·na·gling. to practice deception or fraud; scheme. Show More
Origin of finagle 1925–30, Americanism ;
finaig- (variant of
fainaigue ) +
-le Related forms fi·na·gler , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for finagling (tr) to get or achieve by trickery, craftiness, or persuasion; wangle to use trickery or craftiness on (a person) Show More
Derived Forms finagler , noun Word Origin for finagle C20: probably changed from dialect fainaigue
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for finagling v. 1926, American English, possibly a variant of English dialectal fainaigue "to cheat or renege" (at cards), of unknown origin. Liberman says finagle is from figgle , phonetic variant of fiddle "fidget about," frequentative of fig . Related: Finagled ; finagling .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
