whiffle
/ˈ(h)wɪfl̩/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.60 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "[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."
- "[A] Perſon of whiffling and unſteady Turn of Mind, who cannot keep cloſe to a Point of Controverſy, […]"
- "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."
Etymology
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.