WHIFFLE

Etymology

Noun

whiffle (plural whiffles)

A short blow or gust.

(obsolete) Something small or insignificant; a trifle.

(obsolete) A fife or small flute.

Verb

whiffle (third-person singular simple present whiffles, present participle whiffling, simple past and past participle whiffled)

To blow a short gust.

To waffle, talk aimlessly.

(British) To waste time.

To travel quickly with an accompanying wind-like sound; whizz, whistle along.

(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.

(intransitive) To waver, or shake, as if moved by gusts of wind; to shift, turn, or veer about.

(transitive) To wave or shake quickly; to cause to whiffle.

To change from one opinion or course to another; to use evasions; to prevaricate; to be fickle.

• I. Watts

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

Source: Wiktionary

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Whif"fle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Whiffled; p. pr. & vb. n. Whiffling.] Etym: [Freq. of whiff to puff, perhaps influenced by D. weifelen to waver.]

1. To waver, or shake, as if moved by gusts of wind; to shift, turn, or veer about. D

2. To change from one opinion or course to another; to use evasions; to prevaricate; to be fickle. A person of whiffing and unsteady turn of mind can not keep close to a point of controversy. I. Watts.

Whif"fle, v. t.

1. To disperse with, or as with, a whiff, or puff; to scatter. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

2. To wave or shake quickly; to cause to whiffle.

Whif"fle, n.

Definition: A fife or small flute. [Obs.] Douce.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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