whiffle

English

Alternative forms

• wiffle

Etymology

1662, in sense “flutter as blown by wind”, as whiff +‎ -le (“(frequentative)”) and (onomatopoeia) sound of wind, particularly a leaf fluttering in unsteady wind; compare whiff. Sense “something small or insignificant” is from 1680.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)wɪfl̩/
• Rhymes: -ɪfəl

Noun

whiffle (plural whiffles)

1. A short blow or gust.
2. (obsolete) Something small or insignificant; a trifle.
3. (obsolete) A fife or small flute.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Douce to this entry?)

Verb

1. To blow a short gust.
2. To waffle, talk aimlessly.
3. (British) To waste time.
4. To travel quickly with an accompanying wind-like sound; whizz, whistle along.
5. (ornithology, of a bird) To descend rapidly from a height once the decision to land has been made, involving fast side-slipping first one way and then the other.
6. (intransitive) To waver, or shake, as if moved by gusts of wind; to shift, turn, or veer about.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Dampier to this entry?)

7. (transitive) To wave or shake quickly; to cause to whiffle.
8. To change from one opinion or course to another; to use evasions; to prevaricate; to be fickle.
   • I. Watts

     A person of whiffling and unsteady turn of mind cannot keep close to a point of controversy.

9. To disperse with, or as with, a whiff, or puff; to scatter.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Dr. H. More to this entry?)

Derived terms

• wiffleball