waffle2
[wof-uh l]Informal.
- to speak or write equivocally: to waffle on an important issue.
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- to speak or write equivocally about: to waffle a campaign promise.
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- waffling language.
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Origin of waffle2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
waffle1
- a crisp golden-brown pancake with deep indentations on both sides
- (as modifier)waffle iron
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Word Origin
C19: from Dutch wafel (earlier wæfel), of Germanic origin; related to Old High German wabo honeycomb
waffle2
- (intr often foll by on) to speak or write in a vague and wordy mannerhe waffled on for hours
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- vague and wordy speech or writing
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Word Origin
C19: of unknown origin
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 waffly
waffle
n.
1744, from Dutch wafel "waffle," from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German wafel, from Proto-Germanic *wabila- "web, honeycomb" (cf. Old High German waba "honeycomb," German Wabe), related to Old High German weban, Old English wefan "to weave" (see weave (v.)). Sense of "honeycomb" is preserved in some combinations referring to a weave of cloth. Waffle iron is from 1794.
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waffle
v.
1690s, "to yelp, bark," frequentative of waff "to yelp" (1610); possibly of imitative origin. Figurative sense of "talk foolishly" (1701) led to that of "vacillate, equivocate" (1803), originally a Scottish and northern English usage. Related: Waffled; waffling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper