stickling

Variant of stickle

intransitive verb stickled, stickling

  1. to raise objections, haggle, or make difficulties, esp. in a stubborn, narrow manner and usually about trifles
  2. to have objections; scruple (at)

Origin: prob. < ME stightlen, to rule, order, dispose, freq. of stighten, to dispose, destine < OE stihtan, prob. akin to Ger stiften, to arrange, establish: for prob. IE base see stiff

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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