piddle
[pid-l]
- to spend time in a wasteful, trifling, or ineffective way; dawdle (often followed by around): He wasted the day piddling around.
- Informal. (especially of children and pets) to urinate.
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- to waste (time, money, etc.); fail to utilize (usually followed by away).
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Origin of piddle
First recorded in 1535–45; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for piddle
laze, loll, saunter, loiter, trifle, lie, stall, slack, relax, goldbrick, dillydally, drift, evade, lounge, idle, malinger, bum, shirk, dally, dreamExamples from the Web for piddle
Historical Examples of piddle
The principal rivers are the Stour, the Frome, and the Piddle.
The New Gresham EncyclopediaVarious
Some moved to town and do carpenter work, and others jes' piddle around.
It riseth about Alton, and goeth from thence to Piddle trench head, Deuils.
Chronicles (1 of 6): The Description of BritaineRaphaell Holinshed
Atter grandma got too old to wuk in de field, she didn't do nothin' but piddle 'round de yard and bile slops for de hogs.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United StatesWork Projects Administration
I know I used to go to the house with my mother and piddle around.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United StatesWork Projects Administration
piddle
- (intr) informal to urinate
- (when tr, often foll by away) to spend (one's time) aimlessly; fritter
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Word Origin for piddle
C16: origin unknown
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 piddle
1540s, "to peddle, to work in a trifling way," of uncertain origin, apparently a frequentative form. Meaning "to pick at one's food" is from 1610s; that of "urinate" is from 1796. Related: Piddled; piddler; piddling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper