footle

[ foo t-l ]

/ ˈfʊt l /

Informal.

verb (used without object), foot·led, foot·ling.

to act or talk in a foolish or silly way.

noun

nonsense; foolishness; silliness.

Words nearby footle

foothill, foothold, footie, footing, footing piece, footle, footless, footlet, footlight, footlights, footling

Origin of footle

1890–95; origin uncertain; cf. footy

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

Examples from the Web for footle

I never did it myself—I think it's footle—but lots and lots do.
The Flamp, The Ameliorator, and The Schoolboy's Apprentice|E. V. Lucas

British Dictionary definitions for footle

footle

/ (ˈfuːtəl) informal /

verb (intr)

(often foll by around or about) to loiter aimlessly; potter

to talk nonsense

noun

rare foolishness

Word Origin for footle

C19: probably from French foutre to copulate with, from Latin futuere

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