whiffle
verbEtymology 1662, in sense “flutter as blown by wind”, as whiff + -le (“(frequentative)”) and (onomatopoeia) sound of wind, particularly a leaf fluttering in unsteady wind; compare whiff. Sense “something small or insignificant” is from 1680.
9 senses
- 1To blow a short gust.
- 2To waffle, talk aimlessly.
- 3To waste time.
- 4To travel quickly with an accompanying wind-like sound…
- 5To descend rapidly from a height once the decision to…
- 6To waver, or shake, as if moved by gusts of wind; to…
- 7To wave or shake quickly; to cause to whiffle.
- 8To change from one opinion or course to another; to use…
- 9To disperse with, or as with, a whiff, or puff; to scatter.
To blow a short gust.
To waffle, talk aimlessly.
UK To waste time.
To travel quickly with an accompanying wind-like sound; whizz, whistle along.
Biology, Natural sciences, 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.
To waver, or shake, as if moved by gusts of wind; to shift, turn, or veer about.
- [S]ometimes it may happen that ſuch a Cloud may appear ſeveral Mornings and Evenings, and we may not feel the effects of it, or but very little; yet we always provide againſt it; for a North never comes without ſuch a foreboding Cloud. But if the VVinds also vvhiffle about to the South, with fair flattering VVeather, it never fails.1699, William Dampier, “Of Storms”, in Voyages and Descriptions. Vol. II. […], London: […] James Knapton, […], →OCLC, part (please specify |part=I to III), page 61:
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.
- [A] Perſon of whiffling and unſteady Turn of Mind, who cannot keep cloſe to a Point of Controverſy, […]1741, I[saac] Watts, “Rules of Improvement by Conversation”, in The Improvement of the Mind: Or, A Supplement to the Art of Logick: […], London: […] James Brackstone, […], →OCLC, paragraph XXVII, page 144:
To disperse with, or as with, a whiff, or puff; to scatter.
- This is a plain and obvious ſenſe of this Promiſe, […] againſt ſuch as would whiffle away all theſe Truths by reſolving them into a mere moral Allegorie.1669, Henry More, “The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Church of Laodicea”, in An Exposition of the Seven Epistles to the Seven Churches; […], London: […] James Flesher, →OCLC, paragraph 13, page 163:
- Derived terms
- wiffleball