bicker

English

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈbɪkə/

  Rhymes: -ɪkə(r)

Etymology

Middle English bikeren 'to attack', from Middle Dutch bicken 'to stab, attack' (modern bikken 'to chip off'), from Proto-Germanic *bikjanan (compare Old English becca 'pickax', Old High German bicchan 'to thrust, attack', Old Norse bikkja 'to plunge into water'); of unknown origin.

Verb

bicker (third-person singular simple present bickers, present participle bickering, simple past and past participle bickered)

1. To quarrel in a tiresome, insulting manner.

   They bickered about dinner every evening.

Synonyms

• wrangle
• See also Wikisaurus:squabble

Translations

to quarrel in a tiresome manner

Bulgarian: дърля се (bg), карам се (bg) Danish: skændes, mundhugges Finnish: kiistellä, nahistella, kinastella (fi)

French: se chamailler Russian: переругиваться (ru), препираться (ru)

External links

• bicker in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• bicker in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• Bicker in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.