We're not sure why the word came to be applied specifically to lawyers, but it appears to have initially referred to lower-status attorneys who argued the smaller, less important cases.Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!How dare you called me a ninnyhammer you pillock!Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!Learn a new word every day. (I don't otherwise participate in Twitter. Germanic variations of "fugger" were used for the wealthy and avaricious, as well as for hucksters. People were trying to make sense of this odd word fogger that didn’t then exist in the language and converted it to one they knew. proper name, a Medieval Latin feminine diminutive of Latin Petronius (which is of uncertain origin). Earliest documented use: 1564.

All Free. Another fun etymology (via wordorigins.org): pettifogger (“a lawyer who engages in petty quibbling and cavilling, or who employs dubious or underhanded legal practices”) is explained by the OED as simply petty plus the earlier fogger, and the OED says of the latter: [Of somewhat obscure history; but prob. pettifogger (n.) "inferior or petty attorney employed in small or mean business," or, as Henley has it, "An attorney of the baser sort: a sharking lawyer," 1560s, often treated as two words or hyphenated. By Xah Lee. It is professional enough to satisfy academic standards, but accessible enough to be used by anyone. @ emordino: Is “brass monkeys” not in common usage in your area? In German, Flemish and Dutch, the name became a word for “monopolist, rich man, usurer.”,A ‘petty Fugger’ would mean one who on a small scale practices the dishonourable devices for gain popularly attributed to great financiers; it seems possible that the phrase ‘petty fogger of the law,’ applied in this sense to some notorious person, may have caught the popular fancy. But why "fogger"? Origin: "petty" + obsolete fogger "underhanded dealer", probably from Fugger, the name of a family of merchants in Augsburg, Germany, in the ...(24 of 27 etymology words) oxforddictionaries .com /definition /american english /pettifogger "Pettie" was a variant spelling of "petty," a reasonable inclusion in a word for someone who is disreputable and small-minded. computer programer = pettifogger, mousing to and fro, daily.1560s, from petty; the second element possibly from obsolete Dutch focker, from Flemish focken “to cheat,” or from cognate Middle English fugger, from Fugger the renowned family of merchants and financiers of 15c.-16c.

Comments are closed. Definitely a keeper.A favourite expresion of mine is “quibbledick” but I have yet to find either a definition or an explanation of its origin (that “-dick” at the end suggests a less than flattering colloquial source!). Post navigation. ETYMOLOGY: From petty (small) + fogger, perhaps after Fuggers, a Bavarian family of merchants in the 15th and 16th centuries. To save this word, you'll need to log in.In its earliest English uses, "pettifogger" was two separate words: "pettie fogger." The site has become a favorite resource of teachers of reading, spelling, and English as a second language.

However, most experts think that pettifactor actually came along later as a corrupted form of pettifogger. Augsburg. In English, a "pettie fogger" was originally a small-time operator of a shady business. 1560s, from petty; the second element possibly from obsolete Dutch focker, from Flemish focken “to cheat,” or from cognate Middle English fugger, from Fugger the renowned family of merchants and financiers of 15c.-16c. Rhymes: -ɒɡə(r) Noun []. Date: 2019-08-15. computer programer = pettifogger, mousing to and fro, daily. pettifogger (plural pettifoggers) . Pettifogger” Peter Smallwood says: February 10, 2020 at 10:27 am Lot’sa love for alliteration! Petronilla . 16c.

First use: 1560s.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary. fugger, from Fugger the renowned family of merchants and financiers of 15c. pettifogger.

Augsburg. The lawyers called pettifoggers spent their time arguing about matters of small importance.

Pettifogger definition is - a lawyer whose methods are petty, underhanded, or disreputable : shyster. Pettifogger definition is - a lawyer whose methods are petty, underhanded, or disreputable : shyster. Etymology of Pettifogger.

Germanic variations of "fugger" were used for the wealthy and avaricious, as well as for hucksters.

It may come from "Fugger," the name of a successful family of 15th- and 16th-century German merchants and financiers.

We're not sure why the word came to be applied specifically to lawyers, but it appears to have initially referred to lower-status attorneys who argued the smaller, less important cases.Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!How dare you called me a ninnyhammer you pillock!Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!Learn a new word every day. (I don't otherwise participate in Twitter. Germanic variations of "fugger" were used for the wealthy and avaricious, as well as for hucksters. People were trying to make sense of this odd word fogger that didn’t then exist in the language and converted it to one they knew. proper name, a Medieval Latin feminine diminutive of Latin Petronius (which is of uncertain origin). Earliest documented use: 1564.

All Free. Another fun etymology (via wordorigins.org): pettifogger (“a lawyer who engages in petty quibbling and cavilling, or who employs dubious or underhanded legal practices”) is explained by the OED as simply petty plus the earlier fogger, and the OED says of the latter: [Of somewhat obscure history; but prob. pettifogger (n.) "inferior or petty attorney employed in small or mean business," or, as Henley has it, "An attorney of the baser sort: a sharking lawyer," 1560s, often treated as two words or hyphenated. By Xah Lee. It is professional enough to satisfy academic standards, but accessible enough to be used by anyone. @ emordino: Is “brass monkeys” not in common usage in your area? In German, Flemish and Dutch, the name became a word for “monopolist, rich man, usurer.”,A ‘petty Fugger’ would mean one who on a small scale practices the dishonourable devices for gain popularly attributed to great financiers; it seems possible that the phrase ‘petty fogger of the law,’ applied in this sense to some notorious person, may have caught the popular fancy. But why "fogger"? Origin: "petty" + obsolete fogger "underhanded dealer", probably from Fugger, the name of a family of merchants in Augsburg, Germany, in the ...(24 of 27 etymology words) oxforddictionaries .com /definition /american english /pettifogger "Pettie" was a variant spelling of "petty," a reasonable inclusion in a word for someone who is disreputable and small-minded. computer programer = pettifogger, mousing to and fro, daily.1560s, from petty; the second element possibly from obsolete Dutch focker, from Flemish focken “to cheat,” or from cognate Middle English fugger, from Fugger the renowned family of merchants and financiers of 15c.-16c.

Comments are closed. Definitely a keeper.A favourite expresion of mine is “quibbledick” but I have yet to find either a definition or an explanation of its origin (that “-dick” at the end suggests a less than flattering colloquial source!). Post navigation. ETYMOLOGY: From petty (small) + fogger, perhaps after Fuggers, a Bavarian family of merchants in the 15th and 16th centuries. To save this word, you'll need to log in.In its earliest English uses, "pettifogger" was two separate words: "pettie fogger." The site has become a favorite resource of teachers of reading, spelling, and English as a second language.

However, most experts think that pettifactor actually came along later as a corrupted form of pettifogger. Augsburg. In English, a "pettie fogger" was originally a small-time operator of a shady business. 1560s, from petty; the second element possibly from obsolete Dutch focker, from Flemish focken “to cheat,” or from cognate Middle English fugger, from Fugger the renowned family of merchants and financiers of 15c.-16c. Rhymes: -ɒɡə(r) Noun []. Date: 2019-08-15. computer programer = pettifogger, mousing to and fro, daily. pettifogger (plural pettifoggers) . Pettifogger” Peter Smallwood says: February 10, 2020 at 10:27 am Lot’sa love for alliteration! Petronilla . 16c.

First use: 1560s.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary. fugger, from Fugger the renowned family of merchants and financiers of 15c. pettifogger.

Augsburg. The lawyers called pettifoggers spent their time arguing about matters of small importance.

Pettifogger definition is - a lawyer whose methods are petty, underhanded, or disreputable : shyster. Pettifogger definition is - a lawyer whose methods are petty, underhanded, or disreputable : shyster. Etymology of Pettifogger.

Germanic variations of "fugger" were used for the wealthy and avaricious, as well as for hucksters.

It may come from "Fugger," the name of a successful family of 15th- and 16th-century German merchants and financiers.

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