squabble

Meaning

Noun

A minor fight or argument.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To participate in a minor fight or argument; to quarrel.
2. (transitive) To disarrange, so that the letters or lines stand awry and require readjustment.

Synonyms

quarrel

wrangle

bicker

dispute

argue

fight

row

conflict

bickering

scuffle

brawl

argument

spat

brabble

clash

skirmish

altercation

contention

fuss

tiff

scrap

debate

quibble

pettifog

niggle

fray

controversy

altercate

jangle

scene

scrimmage

spar

have a fight

pettifoggery

have a row

higgle

high words

loud quarrel

jar

🫙

litigate

melee

disturbance

disputation

discord

quarreling

disagreement

agitation

ruckus

ruction

run-in

Translations

battibecco

bagarre

querelle

litigio

lutte

lutter

ruzie

chamailler

dispute

scaramuccia

kabbeln

zuffa

chamaillerie

litigare

bisticcio

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈskwɒbl/

Etymology

Cognate with Swedish: -

Cognate with Norwegian: -

Cognate with German: -

In summary

The noun form first appears c. 1602, while the verbal form first appears c. 1616. Probably of North Germanic origin and ultimately imitative.
Related to Swedish dialectal skvabbel (“a dispute, quarrel, gossip”), Norwegian dialectal skvabba (“to prattle”), German dialectal schwabbeln (“to babble, prattle”), Swedish dialectal skvappa (“to chide, scold”, literally “make a splash”).