quibble

Etymology

quib + -le. Quib is probably from Latin quibus (“in what respect? how?”), which appeared frequently in legal documents and came to be suggestive of the verbosity and petty argumentation found therein.

noun

1. (now rare) A pun.
   Is it a quibble, or play upon words? 1864, Robert Kemp Philp, editor, The Family Friend, page 54
   This is a quibble between council and counsel. The latter word is still used to imply secrecy; as in the phrase, "keep your own counsel." 1870, Richard Grant White, The complete works of Shakspere, with a memoir, and essay
2. An objection or argument based on an ambiguity of wording or similar trivial circumstance; a minor complaint.
   He harped on his quibble about how the dark red paint should be described as carmine rather than burgundy.
   Toward the end of “Galatea,” there are a few missteps: […] All in all, though, these are minor quibbles. 1995-06-27, Michiko Kakutani, “Playing Pygmalion to a Hermeneutic Computer”, in New York Times
   Essentially, we want a commitment to no-quibble refunds, without admin fees, if people who have already paid decide not to travel because of the virus. March 25 2020, “Network News: Passengers offered refunds or switched fares”, in Rail, page 7

verb

1. (informal, intransitive) To complain or argue in a trivial or petty manner.
   They are constantly quibbling over insignificant details.
   Mr. Musk has shown a disdain toward Twitter’s previous corporate culture. He has quibbled with the number of bird references in the company’s internal team names and products. 2023-07-24, Ryan Mac, Tiffany Hsu, “From Twitter to X: Elon Musk Begins Erasing an Iconic Internet Brand”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
2. (informal, rare, transitive) To contest, especially some trivial issue in a petty manner.
   The customer quibbled the bill.