whiffler
1 Americannoun
-
a person who frequently shifts opinions, attitudes, interests, etc.
-
a person who is vacillating or evasive in an argument.
noun
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of whiffler1
First recorded in 1600–10; whiffle + -er 1
Origin of whiffler2
First recorded in 1530–40; earlier wiffler “armed attendant,” equivalent to wiffle (variant of Middle English wifle, Old English wifel “battle-ax”) + -er 1. The spelling with wh probably arose by asociation with whiff 1 ( def. ).
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And first as a whiffler before the show enter Stamford, one that trod the stage with the first, traversed the ground, made a leg and exit.
From Character Writings of the 17th Century by Various
In any show he will be one, though he be but a whiffler or a torch-bearer, and bears down strangers with the story of his actions.
From Character Writings of the 17th Century by Various
Ay, ay; he's a whiffler, but a good man on a sea-elephant.
From The Sea Lions The Lost Sealers by James Fenimore Cooper
In his day he had been esteemed the most graceful whiffler in the world: now he used only the heavy sword, because he was himself grown heavy.
From The Fifth Queen And How She Came to Court by Ford Madox Ford
My wife and I had a great quarrel on this occasion; she pretended that he came only to give her some ribbons, as he had been a whiffler in the procession.
From The Affecting Case of the Unfortunate Thomas Daniels by Thomas Daniels
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
