footling

[ foo t-ling ]

/ ˈfʊt lɪŋ /

adjective Informal.

foolish; silly: ridiculous, footling remarks.

trifling or useless.

Words nearby footling

footle, footless, footlet, footlight, footlights, footling, footling presentation, footlocker, footlong, footloose, footloose and fancy-free

Origin of footling

First recorded in 1895–1900; footle + -ing²

Definition for footling (2 of 2)

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.

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 footling

"I s'pose we'll just keep on footling about here till the blooming war's over," he growled.
Commander Lawless V.C.|Rolf Bennett
For the life of me, I can't see why we should carry these footling little nations on our shoulders.
War Letters of a Public-School Boy|Paul Jones.
But he must do this, his very first job, absolutely correctly, and without any bungling and footling.
Cupid in Africa|P. C. Wren
I wouldn't lose this day at Pompeii for a shipload of footling schoolmasters.
Captivity|M. Leonora Eyles

Seems as if everything were too small and footling to matter.
Notwithstanding|Mary Cholmondeley

British Dictionary definitions for footling (1 of 2)

footling

/ (ˈfuːtlɪŋ) /

adjective

informal silly, trivial, or petty

British Dictionary definitions for footling (2 of 2)

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