Cavilling
/ˈkæv.əl.ɪŋ/noun
Present participle of cavil: to raise petty objections or captious complaints.
Did you know?The verb cavil entered English through French and Latin with the sense of making trifling objections, and its history is all about verbal hair-splitting rather than magic, even though it sounds like a spell.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
cavillari
“to jest, mock, or quibble”
Late Latin
Latin
cavilla
“mockery, trickery, a jest”
Old French
Old French
caviller
“to quibble, carp”
16th Century
English
cavill
“a petty or frivolous objection”
Modern English
English
cavilling
“raising petty objections or criticizing in a captious way”