Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
spent the morning footling about while others were working
Footle may be an alteration of "footer," which an 1847 dictionary of archaic and provincial words says is a verb meaning "to idle." That word is connected with "fouter" (also spelled "foutra"), a word describing something of little value or someone worthless or bungling. But the link between "footle" and "footer" is speculative. What we can say with confidence is that "footle" is a verb of 19th century origin that-along with the adjective "footling" (as in "a footling amateur")-is still apt when discussing foolish or trifling people or things.
First Known Use: 1891
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearWhat made you want to look up footle? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
May 2018 Words of the Day Quiz
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
