Pettifogger - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

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SKIP TO CONTENT pettifogger /ˌpɛdiˈfɔgər/ IPA guide

Other forms: pettifoggers

A sneaky, underhanded lawyer is a pettifogger. If your neighbor hires an unscrupulous quack to sue you, you might call his attorney a pettifogger.

You don't hear the word pettifogger much these days, since the word is fairly archaic, but you might come across it in an old book. A bad lawyer, or pettifogger, used dubious means to get clients and to win cases. The mid-16th century word itself combined petty — "small," from the French petit — with the obsolete word fogger, "underhanded dealer," which probably came from a wealthy 15th century Bavarian family of merchants, the Fuggers.

Definitions of pettifogger

noun a disputant who quibbles; someone who raises annoying petty objections synonyms: caviler, caviller, quibbler see moresee less type of: malcontent a person who is discontented or disgusted
noun a person (especially a lawyer or politician) who uses unscrupulous or unethical methods synonyms: shyster see moresee less type of: offender, wrongdoer a person who transgresses moral or civil law

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Copy citation DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘pettifogger'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback Word Family

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