First Known Use: 1542
Dictionary
cavil
verb cav·il \ˈka-vəl\
: to complain about things that are not important
cav·iled or cav·illedcav·il·ing or cav·il·ling\ˈka-və-liŋ, ˈkav-liŋ\
Full Definition of CAVIL
intransitive verb
: to raise trivial and frivolous objection
transitive verb
: to raise trivial objections to
— cavil noun
— cav·il·er or cav·il·ler \ˈka-və-lər, ˈkav-lər\ noun
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Origin of CAVIL
Latin cavillari to jest, cavil, from cavilla raillery; akin to Latin calvi to deceive — more at calumny
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