squabble en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈskwɑːbəl/ (General-American)
- /ˈskwɒbəl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (General-American) audio
Etymology
The noun form first appears c. 1602, while the verbal form first appears c. 1616. Probably of North Germanic origin and ultimately imitative. Related to Swedish dialectal skvabbel (“a dispute, quarrel, gossip”), Norwegian dialectal skvabba (“to prattle”), German dialectal schwabbeln (“to babble, prattle”), Swedish dialectal skvappa (“to chide, scold”, literally “make a splash”).
Meanings
-
A minor fight or argument.
The children got into a squabble about who should ride in the front of the car.
"p your mess. Also, as apologetic as you were for occupying my time, which I had hoped to spend with my daughter, you used about twice as many words as you needed to, and wasted an entire paragraph complaining about your colleagues. I went back to the SCP-079 file — Supervisor Valis would have had the thing decommissioned years ago if it weren't for your blatant technofetishism. Yet, you have the gall to characterize the Foundation's ongoing political interventions and military operations as squabbles."
2022 October 18, Placeholder McD, “SCP-7579 [offset 1]”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 20 Dec 2024:It was obvious to the inhabitants of the small coastal town of Bridport that in the midst of these squabbles their need for a railway was going to be overlooked, and they decided to take the matter into their own hands.
1957 November 14, J. Spencer Gilks, “Centenary of the Bridport Branch”, in Railway Magazine, page 747:
-
(collective) A group of seagulls.
listening to the squabble of gulls as they fight for leftover scraps of picnic down at the seafront.
2013, Isabel Ashdown, Summer of '76, Myriad Editions:Damon pointed at the squabble of gulls.
2016, Jenifer McVaugh, Our Lady of Happy Endings, Friesen Press:When the squabble of gulls splashed into the river, they squawked, swam apart, flapped away with dripping bits in bloody beaks
2022, Robert Dean Holland, Dragons of Janaidar and Elijah, The Stolen Man: A Science Fiction Fantasy, Roxytone LLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| squabbles | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Translations (42)
fr dispute (minor fight or argument) · sv käbbel (minor fight or argument) · fr guéguerre (minor fight or argument) · it diatriba (minor fight or argument) · it scaramuccia (minor fight or argument) · cy cynnen (minor fight or argument) · sv kiv (minor fight or argument) · ar شِجَار (minor fight or argument) · sh čarka (minor fight or argument) · ru перебра́нка (minor fight or argument) · cs poškorpení (minor fight or argument) · cs rozmíška (minor fight or argument) · es disputilla (minor fight or argument) · gd connspaid (minor fight or argument) · ru ссо́ра (minor fight or argument) · de Disput (minor fight or argument) · it litigio (minor fight or argument) · hi लड़ाई (minor fight or argument) · nl gekrakeel (minor fight or argument) · nb kjekling (minor fight or argument) · gd trod (minor fight or argument) · de Rangelei (minor fight or argument) · sv bjäbb (minor fight or argument) · mi komekome (minor fight or argument) · cs půtka (minor fight or argument) · fa بگومگو (minor fight or argument) · fa یکیبهدو (minor fight or argument) · cy ffrwgwd (minor fight or argument) · fr riotte (minor fight or argument) · it battibecco (minor fight or argument) · tr itiş kakış (minor fight or argument) · tr hırgür (minor fight or argument) · cs hašteření (minor fight or argument) · fi kinastelu (minor fight or argument) · es repique (minor fight or argument) · nn kjekling (minor fight or argument) · gd connsachadh (minor fight or argument) · cs šarvátka (minor fight or argument) · bg разправия (minor fight or argument) · de Gerangel (minor fight or argument) · hi झगड़ा (minor fight or argument) · el αψιμαχία (minor fight or argument)