What Does Pettifogger Mean?

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What does pettifogger mean?

Definitions for pettifoggerpet·ti·fog·ger

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word pettifogger.

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. shyster, pettifoggernoun

   a person (especially a lawyer or politician) who uses unscrupulous or unethical methods

2. quibbler, caviller, caviler, pettifoggernoun

   a disputant who quibbles; someone who raises annoying petty objections

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 2 votes

1. pettifoggernoun

   Someone who quibbles over trivia, and raises petty, annoying objections.

2. pettifoggernoun

   An unscrupulous or unethical lawyer, especially one of lesser skill.

3. Etymology: From petty + fogger.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pettifoggernoun

   A petty small-rate lawyer.

   Etymology: corrupted from pettivoguer; petit and voguer, Fr.

   The worst conditioned and least cliented petivoguers get, under the sweet bait of revenge, more plentiful prosecution of actions. Richard Carew, Survey of Cornwall.

   Your pettifoggers damn their soulsTo share with knaves in cheating fools. Hudibras.

   Consider, my dear, how indecent it is to abandon your shop and follow pettifoggers; there is hardly a plea between two country esquires about a barren acre, but you draw yourself in as bail, surety or solicitor. John Arbuthnot, Hist. of J. Bull.

   Physicians are apt to despise empiricks, lawyers, pettifoggers, merchants and pedlars. Jonathan Swift.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pettifogger

   A pettifogger is a person who unnecessarily complicates or exaggerates minor disputes or issues, especially a lawyer who resorts to unscrupulous or deceptive practices in petty cases for personal gain.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pettifoggernoun

   a lawyer who deals in petty cases; an attorney whose methods are mean and tricky; an inferior lawyer

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pettifogger

   pet′i-fog-ėr, n. a lawyer who practises only in paltry cases.—v.i. Pett′ifog, to play the pettifogger.—n. Pett′ifoggery, mean tricks: quibbles.—adj. Pett′ifogging. [Petty, and obs. fog, to cheat (cf. Old Dut. focker).]

Matched Categories

1. • Malcontent
   • Wrongdoer

Usage in printed sourcesFrom:

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How to pronounce pettifogger?

1. AlexUS EnglishDavidUS EnglishMarkUS EnglishDanielBritishLibbyBritishMiaBritishKarenAustralianHayleyAustralianNatashaAustralianVeenaIndianPriyaIndianNeerjaIndianZiraUS EnglishOliverBritishWendyBritishFredUS EnglishTessaSouth African

How to say pettifogger in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of pettifogger in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of pettifogger in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNethttp://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=pettifogger
2. ^ Wiktionaryhttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Pettifogger
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionaryhttps://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=pettifogger
4. ^ ChatGPThttps://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionaryhttps://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pettifogger
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionaryhttps://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=pettifogger
7. ^ Usage in printed sourceshttps://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=pettifogger

Translations for pettifogger

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

• ordkløverDanish
• Haarspalter, WinkeladvokatGerman
• picapleitosSpanish
• pilkunviilaajaFinnish
• lēgulēiusLatin
• pieniaczPolish
• krångelmakare, lagvrängare, brännvinsadvokat, hårklyvareSwedish

Get even more translations for pettifogger »

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"pettifogger." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LTD, 2026. Web. 11 Mar. 2026. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/pettifogger>.

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