† nigglingn.¹

Forms: see niggle v.¹ and -ing suffix¹.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: niggle v.¹, -ing suffix¹.

Etymology: < niggle v.¹ + -ing suffix¹.

cant. Obsolete.

The action of niggle v.¹

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > fornication, adultery, or incest > [noun] > fornication > with women

niggling1608

1608 T. Dekker Lanthorne & Candle-light sig. B1^v Niggling, companying with a woman [1610 S. Rid Martin Mark-all E 3, This word is not used now].

1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle i. i Iack. Dap. Nay teach mee what niggling is, I'de faine bee Niggling. Mol. Wapping and niggling is all one, the rogue my man Can tell you.

1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew ii. sig. F4^v The Autum-Mort finds better sport In bowsing then in nigling.

a1723 Democritus in Whipping-Tom (single sheet) 42 [She] will Pawn her Cloaths for a nigling Bout.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2018).

nigglingn.²

Brit.

/ˈnɪɡl̩ɪŋ/,

/ˈnɪɡlɪŋ/, U.S.

/ˈnɪɡ(ə)lɪŋ/

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: niggle v.², -ing suffix¹.

Etymology: < niggle v.² + -ing suffix¹.

1. Trifling or fiddly work; over-attention to details; (now) esp. petty or pedantic criticism.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > illegal or immoral trading > [noun] > sordid or petty trading

huckstery1362

huckery1377

cauponation1531

huckstering1647

niggling1840

hucksterism1951

c1810 W. Blake Public Address in Writings (1925) 135 Every Body of Understanding must cry out Shame on such Niggling & Poco-Pen as Dryden has degraded Milton with.

1829 F. Marryat Naval Officer I. viii. 224 Cleanliness and good order are what seamen like; but niggling, polishing, scraping iron bars..and the like of that, a sailor dislikes.

1840 W. M. Thackeray Catherine x The man was well fitted for the creeping and niggling of his dastardly trade.

1881 Times 5 Feb. 9/2 He will grant them some powers, but not all they are asking for... This of course is mere niggling.

1927 Economica No. 19. 113 One is left confronting a mind of undeniable greatness, and convinced of the futility of petty niggling seriously to diminish its stature.

1955 Times 23 June 11/2 Leadership has to be created, proper relationships established..business forwarded in a broad, wise fashion free from niggling or pettiness.

1998 Renaissance Q. 51 704 We are all in his debt, and no amount of niggling can obscure that basic fact.

†2. spec. Over-elaboration of detail in art. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > the arts in general > [noun] > work of art > qualities generally

decoruma1568

humoura1568

variety1597

strength1608

uniformity1625

barbarity1644

freedom1645

boldness1677

correctness1684

clinquant1711

unity1712

contrast1713

meretriciousness1727

airiness1734

pathos1739

chastity1760

vigour1774

prettyism1789

mannerism1803

serio-comic1805

actuality1812

largeness1824

local colour1829

subjectivitya1834

idealism1841

pastoralism1842

inartisticalitya1849

academicism1852

realism1856

colour contrast1858

crampedness1858

niggling1858

audacity1859

superreality1859

literalism1860

pseudo-classicism1861

sensationalism1862

sensationism1862

chocolate box1865

pseudo-classicality1867

academism1871

actualism1872

academicalism1874

ethos1875

terribilità1877

local colouring1881

neoclassicism1893

mass effect1902

attack1905

verismo1908

kitsch1921

abstraction1923

self-consciousness1932

surreality1936

tension1941

build-up1942

sprezzatura1957

1858 J. Ruskin Elem. of Drawing 32 Some friend will come in, and hold up his hands in mocking amazement, and ask you who could set you to that ‘niggling’.

1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. 37 So long as the work is thoughtfully directed, there is no niggling.

1886 R. C. Leslie Sea-painter's Log 132 No amount of niggling will atone for the want of such touches.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

nigglingadj.

Brit.

/ˈnɪɡl̩ɪŋ/,

/ˈnɪɡlɪŋ/, U.S.

/ˈnɪɡ(ə)lɪŋ/

Forms: see niggle v.² and -ing suffix².

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: niggle v.², -ing suffix².

Etymology: < niggle v.² + -ing suffix².

†a. Of a person: paying excessive attention to detail; painstaking. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 4 All the King of Spaines Indies will not create me such a nigling Hexameter-founder as he [sc. Homer] was.

b. Having or revealing a mean, petty, or fussy character; lacking in breadth of view or feeling, overcritical.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > paltry, mean, or contemptible > fussing or small-minded

fistinga1535

petty1597

whiffling1613

leguleian1615

fiddle-faddle1617

leguleious1660

pottering1720

poking1748

niggling1827

poky1828

whifflegig1830

niggly1840

pistareen1860

petty-minded1927

1827 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) IV. 73 Neither did I like the niggling way in which they dealt with me.

1852 C. W. Hoskyns Talpa 126 Your unprofitable expense is ever peeping out in the niggling nature of your plans.

1886 W. Stubbs 17 Lect. Study Hist. iii. 53 We do not want..niggling articles, which enumerate the mistakes and misstatements of a book.

1891 S. Baring-Gould Hist. Oddities 2nd Ser. iii. 76 This little court..played a niggling game at petty intrigue.

1951 E. Waugh Let. 25 Mar. (1980) 347 These are niggling little complaints just put in to show I've read every word with rapt attention.

1966 D. Bagley Wyatt's Hurricane (1980) ii. 64 So Wyatt went through it again, with Rawsthorne showing a niggling appreciation of detail and asking some unexpectedly penetrating questions.

1983 M. FitzHerbert Man who was Greenmantle v. 82 It is a change to come from niggling non-conformists to people who really are ready to sacrifice all they have for their creed.

c. Of a thing, activity, etc.: fiddly, finicky; awkward to execute or handle. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > difficulty > types of difficulty > [adjective] > difficult or delicate

fine-fingered1549

brickle1568

kittle1568

tickle1569

delicate1574

trickle1579

chary1581

ticklesome1585

ticklish1591

jealous1600

tender1625

nicea1630

thorny1653

parlous1657

tricksy1835

niggling1851

tricky1868

catchy1874

pernickety1884

trickish1900

fiddly1926

footery1929

1851 J. J. G. Wilkinson Human Body 183 There is more and ever more to be known about it, not in the way of niggling additions and grains of scientific sand, but in great principles.

1853 J. E. Erichsen Sci. & Art Surg. xlix. 677 It is a niggling instrument, difficult to manage in this situation.

1863 C. Darwin in Life (1887) III. 312 It is just the sort of niggling work which suits me.

1901 ‘H. V. Esmond’ One Summer's Day i. 11 Great sweeping blue sky—fresh air into tiny lungs—much better than squeaky slates and horrid niggling sums that won't add up.

1949 ‘G. Orwell’ Nineteen Eighty-four ii. i. 110 What was even worse than having to focus his mind on a series of niggling jobs was the need to conceal his agitation from the telescreen.

d. Causing slight but persistent discomfort, anxiety, or annoyance; nagging; troublesome or irritating in a petty way.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > state of annoyance or vexation > [adjective] > annoying or vexatious

angeeOE

swinkfuleOE

plightlyOE

teenfulOE

contrariousc1320

drefa1325

troublinga1325

despitousa1340

thornya1340

discomfortablec1350

troublablec1374

noyousa1382

noyfulc1384

diseasy1387

angrya1393

painful1395

hackinga1400

annoying?c1400

annoyousc1400

cumbrousc1400

teenc1400

annoyfulc1405

sputousc1420

diseasefula1425

molest?a1425

noying?a1425

noisomea1450

grievingc1450

tedious?1454

troublous1463

noisantc1475

displeasant1481

strouble1488

nuisant1494

noyanta1500

irksome1513

sturting1513

molestious1524

vexatious1534

cumbersome1535

uncommodious1541

spiteful1548

vexing?1548

incommodious1551

molestous1555

diseasing1558

grating1563

pestilent1565

sturtsome1570

molestuousa1572

troublesome1573

murrain1575

discommodable1579

galling1583

spiny1586

unsupportable1586

troubleful1588

plaguey1594

distressingc1595

molestful1596

molesting1598

vexful1598

fretful1603

briery1604

bemadding1608

mortifying1611

tiry1611

distressfula1616

irking1629

angersome1649

disobliging1652

discomforting1654

incomfortable1655

incommode1672

ruffling1680

unconvenient1683

pestifying1716

trying1718

offending1726

bothering1765

pesky1775

weary1785

sturty1788

unaccommodating1790

tiresome1798

werriting1808

bothersome1817

plaguesome1828

pestilential1833

fretsome1834

languorous1834

pesty1834

pestersome1843

nettlesome1845

miserable1850

niggling1854

distempering1855

be-maddeninga1861

nattery1873

nagging1883

pestiferous1890

trouble-giving1893

maddening1896

molestive1905

nuisancy1906

balls-aching?1912

nuisance1922

nattering1949

noodgy1969

dickheaded1991

dickish1991

cockish1996

1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 55 A pen, that does not move freely would be called a ‘niggling pen’.

1871 A. Meadows Man. Midwifery (ed. 2) 269 The pains are short, sharp, and rather of a spasmodic character, ‘niggling’, as the nurses will sometimes call them.

1935 S. T. Warner Let. 19 Feb. (1982) 34 Valentine has been having influenza..she has spent a niggling week in bed.

1945 J. Corbett Agent No. 5 vii. 71 Into seclusion where he could..pour out the whole of his miserable thoughts and niggling suspicions.

1972 Which? Apr. 63/2 Not a high performance car, but quiet, comfortable, touring saloon... A few niggling features like poor pedals and heavy steering.

2001 People (Nexis) 27 May 38 Despite some niggling injuries, he finished the season as Liverpool's 24-goal top marksman.

†a. Of art or architecture: showing excessive attention to detail, over-elaborate; deficient in boldness of execution. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > bad taste > lack of simplicity > [adjective] > over-elaborate

finical1592

niggling1813

finicking1831

rococo1844

chichi1926

foofy1984

1813 Examiner 10 May 229/2 The little, niggling pencilling of Mr. Glover's [landscapes].

1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. 38 The whole hand [drawn] within the space of one of those ‘niggling’ touches of Hobbima.

1891 S. Baring-Gould In Troubadour-land xvii. 248 He has carried the face of his niggling little buttresses flush with the massive walls of the great towers.

b. Chiefly English regional. Trifling, paltry, small.

ΚΠ

1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 55 A suppressed laugh is ‘a little niggling laugh’.

1898 G. Miller Gloss. Warwicks. Dial. (at cited word) That's a nice bed of onions sure and sartain. There be hardly a niggling one in the whole bed.

1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 204/2 She onny 'as a nigglin' little fire. Just a titchy bit, even in the middle o' winter!

c. Of handwriting: small, cramped; consisting of short, feeble, or irregular strokes. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > [adjective] > small or cramped

strict1649

cramp1731

polymicrian1829

niggling1854

cramped1876

1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 55 Small, ill-formed writing, is ‘a niggling hand’.

1890 Spectator 12 July 48/1 The most resolute person we know writes a niggling scrawl, hardly legible.

1990 P. Cornwell Post-mortem (1998) vii. 148 Amburgey was busily taking notes in his niggling, fussy scrawl.

Derivatives

ˈnigglingly adv.

ΚΠ

1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Nigglingly.

1969 Daily Tel. 7 Nov. 18 The Government should not concern itself with anything except the aggregate level of profits and dividends—and not nigglingly interfere with every company's individual decisions.

1981 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 2 Aug. xi. 22/1 They make most other views of Rome by other artists look nigglingly diminutive.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

n.¹1608

n.²c1810

adj.1599

单词	niggling
释义	† nigglingn.¹ Forms: see niggle v.¹ and -ing suffix¹. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: niggle v.¹, -ing suffix¹. Etymology: < niggle v.¹ + -ing suffix¹. cant. Obsolete. The action of niggle v.¹ ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > fornication, adultery, or incest > [noun] > fornication > with women niggling1608 1608 T. Dekker Lanthorne & Candle-light sig. B1^v Niggling, companying with a woman [1610 S. Rid Martin Mark-all E 3, This word is not used now]. 1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle i. i Iack. Dap. Nay teach mee what niggling is, I'de faine bee Niggling. Mol. Wapping and niggling is all one, the rogue my man Can tell you. 1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew ii. sig. F4^v The Autum-Mort finds better sport In bowsing then in nigling. a1723 Democritus in Whipping-Tom (single sheet) 42 [She] will Pawn her Cloaths for a nigling Bout. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2018). nigglingn.² Brit. /ˈnɪɡl̩ɪŋ/, /ˈnɪɡlɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈnɪɡ(ə)lɪŋ/ Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: niggle v.², -ing suffix¹. Etymology: < niggle v.² + -ing suffix¹. 1. Trifling or fiddly work; over-attention to details; (now) esp. petty or pedantic criticism. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > illegal or immoral trading > [noun] > sordid or petty trading huckstery1362 huckery1377 cauponation1531 huckstering1647 niggling1840 hucksterism1951 c1810 W. Blake Public Address in Writings (1925) 135 Every Body of Understanding must cry out Shame on such Niggling & Poco-Pen as Dryden has degraded Milton with. 1829 F. Marryat Naval Officer I. viii. 224 Cleanliness and good order are what seamen like; but niggling, polishing, scraping iron bars..and the like of that, a sailor dislikes. 1840 W. M. Thackeray Catherine x The man was well fitted for the creeping and niggling of his dastardly trade. 1881 Times 5 Feb. 9/2 He will grant them some powers, but not all they are asking for... This of course is mere niggling. 1927 Economica No. 19. 113 One is left confronting a mind of undeniable greatness, and convinced of the futility of petty niggling seriously to diminish its stature. 1955 Times 23 June 11/2 Leadership has to be created, proper relationships established..business forwarded in a broad, wise fashion free from niggling or pettiness. 1998 Renaissance Q. 51 704 We are all in his debt, and no amount of niggling can obscure that basic fact. †2. spec. Over-elaboration of detail in art. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > the arts in general > [noun] > work of art > qualities generally decoruma1568 humoura1568 variety1597 strength1608 uniformity1625 barbarity1644 freedom1645 boldness1677 correctness1684 clinquant1711 unity1712 contrast1713 meretriciousness1727 airiness1734 pathos1739 chastity1760 vigour1774 prettyism1789 mannerism1803 serio-comic1805 actuality1812 largeness1824 local colour1829 subjectivitya1834 idealism1841 pastoralism1842 inartisticalitya1849 academicism1852 realism1856 colour contrast1858 crampedness1858 niggling1858 audacity1859 superreality1859 literalism1860 pseudo-classicism1861 sensationalism1862 sensationism1862 chocolate box1865 pseudo-classicality1867 academism1871 actualism1872 academicalism1874 ethos1875 terribilità1877 local colouring1881 neoclassicism1893 mass effect1902 attack1905 verismo1908 kitsch1921 abstraction1923 self-consciousness1932 surreality1936 tension1941 build-up1942 sprezzatura1957 1858 J. Ruskin Elem. of Drawing 32 Some friend will come in, and hold up his hands in mocking amazement, and ask you who could set you to that ‘niggling’. 1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. 37 So long as the work is thoughtfully directed, there is no niggling. 1886 R. C. Leslie Sea-painter's Log 132 No amount of niggling will atone for the want of such touches. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). nigglingadj. Brit. /ˈnɪɡl̩ɪŋ/, /ˈnɪɡlɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈnɪɡ(ə)lɪŋ/ Forms: see niggle v.² and -ing suffix². Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: niggle v.², -ing suffix². Etymology: < niggle v.² + -ing suffix². 1. †a. Of a person: paying excessive attention to detail; painstaking. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 4 All the King of Spaines Indies will not create me such a nigling Hexameter-founder as he [sc. Homer] was. b. Having or revealing a mean, petty, or fussy character; lacking in breadth of view or feeling, overcritical. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > paltry, mean, or contemptible > fussing or small-minded fistinga1535 petty1597 whiffling1613 leguleian1615 fiddle-faddle1617 leguleious1660 pottering1720 poking1748 niggling1827 poky1828 whifflegig1830 niggly1840 pistareen1860 petty-minded1927 1827 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) IV. 73 Neither did I like the niggling way in which they dealt with me. 1852 C. W. Hoskyns Talpa 126 Your unprofitable expense is ever peeping out in the niggling nature of your plans. 1886 W. Stubbs 17 Lect. Study Hist. iii. 53 We do not want..niggling articles, which enumerate the mistakes and misstatements of a book. 1891 S. Baring-Gould Hist. Oddities 2nd Ser. iii. 76 This little court..played a niggling game at petty intrigue. 1951 E. Waugh Let. 25 Mar. (1980) 347 These are niggling little complaints just put in to show I've read every word with rapt attention. 1966 D. Bagley Wyatt's Hurricane (1980) ii. 64 So Wyatt went through it again, with Rawsthorne showing a niggling appreciation of detail and asking some unexpectedly penetrating questions. 1983 M. FitzHerbert Man who was Greenmantle v. 82 It is a change to come from niggling non-conformists to people who really are ready to sacrifice all they have for their creed. c. Of a thing, activity, etc.: fiddly, finicky; awkward to execute or handle. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > difficulty > types of difficulty > [adjective] > difficult or delicate fine-fingered1549 brickle1568 kittle1568 tickle1569 delicate1574 trickle1579 chary1581 ticklesome1585 ticklish1591 jealous1600 tender1625 nicea1630 thorny1653 parlous1657 tricksy1835 niggling1851 tricky1868 catchy1874 pernickety1884 trickish1900 fiddly1926 footery1929 1851 J. J. G. Wilkinson Human Body 183 There is more and ever more to be known about it, not in the way of niggling additions and grains of scientific sand, but in great principles. 1853 J. E. Erichsen Sci. & Art Surg. xlix. 677 It is a niggling instrument, difficult to manage in this situation. 1863 C. Darwin in Life (1887) III. 312 It is just the sort of niggling work which suits me. 1901 ‘H. V. Esmond’ One Summer's Day i. 11 Great sweeping blue sky—fresh air into tiny lungs—much better than squeaky slates and horrid niggling sums that won't add up. 1949 ‘G. Orwell’ Nineteen Eighty-four ii. i. 110 What was even worse than having to focus his mind on a series of niggling jobs was the need to conceal his agitation from the telescreen. d. Causing slight but persistent discomfort, anxiety, or annoyance; nagging; troublesome or irritating in a petty way. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > state of annoyance or vexation > [adjective] > annoying or vexatious angeeOE swinkfuleOE plightlyOE teenfulOE contrariousc1320 drefa1325 troublinga1325 despitousa1340 thornya1340 discomfortablec1350 troublablec1374 noyousa1382 noyfulc1384 diseasy1387 angrya1393 painful1395 hackinga1400 annoying?c1400 annoyousc1400 cumbrousc1400 teenc1400 annoyfulc1405 sputousc1420 diseasefula1425 molest?a1425 noying?a1425 noisomea1450 grievingc1450 tedious?1454 troublous1463 noisantc1475 displeasant1481 strouble1488 nuisant1494 noyanta1500 irksome1513 sturting1513 molestious1524 vexatious1534 cumbersome1535 uncommodious1541 spiteful1548 vexing?1548 incommodious1551 molestous1555 diseasing1558 grating1563 pestilent1565 sturtsome1570 molestuousa1572 troublesome1573 murrain1575 discommodable1579 galling1583 spiny1586 unsupportable1586 troubleful1588 plaguey1594 distressingc1595 molestful1596 molesting1598 vexful1598 fretful1603 briery1604 bemadding1608 mortifying1611 tiry1611 distressfula1616 irking1629 angersome1649 disobliging1652 discomforting1654 incomfortable1655 incommode1672 ruffling1680 unconvenient1683 pestifying1716 trying1718 offending1726 bothering1765 pesky1775 weary1785 sturty1788 unaccommodating1790 tiresome1798 werriting1808 bothersome1817 plaguesome1828 pestilential1833 fretsome1834 languorous1834 pesty1834 pestersome1843 nettlesome1845 miserable1850 niggling1854 distempering1855 be-maddeninga1861 nattery1873 nagging1883 pestiferous1890 trouble-giving1893 maddening1896 molestive1905 nuisancy1906 balls-aching?1912 nuisance1922 nattering1949 noodgy1969 dickheaded1991 dickish1991 cockish1996 1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 55 A pen, that does not move freely would be called a ‘niggling pen’. 1871 A. Meadows Man. Midwifery (ed. 2) 269 The pains are short, sharp, and rather of a spasmodic character, ‘niggling’, as the nurses will sometimes call them. 1935 S. T. Warner Let. 19 Feb. (1982) 34 Valentine has been having influenza..she has spent a niggling week in bed. 1945 J. Corbett Agent No. 5 vii. 71 Into seclusion where he could..pour out the whole of his miserable thoughts and niggling suspicions. 1972 Which? Apr. 63/2 Not a high performance car, but quiet, comfortable, touring saloon... A few niggling features like poor pedals and heavy steering. 2001 People (Nexis) 27 May 38 Despite some niggling injuries, he finished the season as Liverpool's 24-goal top marksman. 2. †a. Of art or architecture: showing excessive attention to detail, over-elaborate; deficient in boldness of execution. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > bad taste > lack of simplicity > [adjective] > over-elaborate finical1592 niggling1813 finicking1831 rococo1844 chichi1926 foofy1984 1813 Examiner 10 May 229/2 The little, niggling pencilling of Mr. Glover's [landscapes]. 1860 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters V. 38 The whole hand [drawn] within the space of one of those ‘niggling’ touches of Hobbima. 1891 S. Baring-Gould In Troubadour-land xvii. 248 He has carried the face of his niggling little buttresses flush with the massive walls of the great towers. b. Chiefly English regional. Trifling, paltry, small. ΚΠ 1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 55 A suppressed laugh is ‘a little niggling laugh’. 1898 G. Miller Gloss. Warwicks. Dial. (at cited word) That's a nice bed of onions sure and sartain. There be hardly a niggling one in the whole bed. 1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 204/2 She onny 'as a nigglin' little fire. Just a titchy bit, even in the middle o' winter! c. Of handwriting: small, cramped; consisting of short, feeble, or irregular strokes. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > [adjective] > small or cramped strict1649 cramp1731 polymicrian1829 niggling1854 cramped1876 1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 55 Small, ill-formed writing, is ‘a niggling hand’. 1890 Spectator 12 July 48/1 The most resolute person we know writes a niggling scrawl, hardly legible. 1990 P. Cornwell Post-mortem (1998) vii. 148 Amburgey was busily taking notes in his niggling, fussy scrawl. Derivatives ˈnigglingly adv. ΚΠ 1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Nigglingly. 1969 Daily Tel. 7 Nov. 18 The Government should not concern itself with anything except the aggregate level of profits and dividends—and not nigglingly interfere with every company's individual decisions. 1981 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 2 Aug. xi. 22/1 They make most other views of Rome by other artists look nigglingly diminutive. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹1608n.²c1810adj.1599
随便看	antilogy antilopine antiloquist antiloquy antiluminary antilyssic antimacassar antimacassared antimacassars antimacedonian antimachinery antimagistratical antimagistrical antimaniacal antimark antimartyr antimarxist antimask antimasker antimasks antimason antimasonic antimasonry antimasque antimasquer

† nigglingn.1

nigglingn.2

nigglingadj.

Derivatives

† nigglingn.¹

nigglingn.²