fiddle

Etymology
From, from , from , from , of uncertain etymology. Some contest that the Germanic terms are borrowed variations of (see ); others contest that the word has a separate origin within Germanic languages, and still others believe that the Late Latin term for the stringed instrument is a borrowing from Germanic as a change of Latin t to Germanic þ is highly improbable, yet Germanic þ to Latin t is well documented (see, , etc.). Cognate with 🇨🇬 (🇨🇬), 🇨🇬 (🇨🇬, ), 🇨🇬 (🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬). The change from to  in modern English is regular; compare,  (in , it was prevented; see that entry for discussion).

Noun

 * , a small unfretted stringed instrument with four strings tuned (lowest to highest) G-D-A-E, usually held against the chin, shoulder, chest or on the upper thigh and played with a bow; the position of a violinist in a band; any of various bowed stringed instruments, particularly those of the violin family when played non-classically.
 * 1) * c. 1275,, , Cotton Caligula A.IX, l. 3490:
 * ...Of harpe & of salteriun. of fiðele & of coriun...
 * : an unserious person entertaining a group.
 * You would not have your Son the Fiddle to every jovial Company.
 * 1)  Unskillful or unartful behavior, particularly when showy and superficially pleasing.
 * , a fraud or swindle.
 * 1) * 1947 June 22, , p. 4:
 * Says Bevin: 'I want peace... and we shan't get it unless we deal with one another as friends. I will be a party to no fiddles.'
 * 1) * 1959 Sept. 4, , p. 297:
 * I know you'll think this is one of my fiddles. At my last parish we raffled a horse and trap,... a clothes horse and a mousetrap.
 * , a quick and less than perfect solution for some flaw or problem.
 * 1)  Any rail or device that prevents items from sliding off a table, stove, etc. in rough water.
 * 2)  A trifling amount.
 * 3) Something resembling a violin in shape, particularly:
 * 4)  A dock  with leaves supposed to resemble the musical instrument.
 * 5) A long pole pulled by a draft animal to drag loose straw, hay, etc.
 * 6) A rack for drying pottery after glazing.
 * 1)  A trifling amount.
 * 2) Something resembling a violin in shape, particularly:
 * 3)  A dock  with leaves supposed to resemble the musical instrument.
 * 4) A long pole pulled by a draft animal to drag loose straw, hay, etc.
 * 5) A rack for drying pottery after glazing.
 * 1) Something resembling a violin in shape, particularly:
 * 2)  A dock  with leaves supposed to resemble the musical instrument.
 * 3) A long pole pulled by a draft animal to drag loose straw, hay, etc.
 * 4) A rack for drying pottery after glazing.

Usage notes

 * The distinction between and fiddles is typically contextual and cultural. The same instrument is considered a  when playing classical music in formal settings, a fiddle when playing folk or country music, and variously described in other settings (such as jazz and rock) depending whichever term seems more appropriate to the speaker. Use of fiddle long predates the 16th century development of the modern violin but its use for other string instruments is almost obsolete; its use for other instruments of the violin family usually requires some explanatory adjective, such as.

Translations

 * Catalan: balancera
 * Finnish: reunalista
 * German: Schiffsgeländer
 * Italian:

Verb

 * 1)  To play the fiddle or violin, particularly in a folk or country style.
 * 2)  To fidget or play; to idly amuse oneself, to act aimlessly, idly, or frivolously, particularly out of nervousness or restlessness.
 * 3)  To cheat or swindle; to commit fraud.
 * 1)  To fidget or play; to idly amuse oneself, to act aimlessly, idly, or frivolously, particularly out of nervousness or restlessness.
 * 2)  To cheat or swindle; to commit fraud.
 * 1)  To cheat or swindle; to commit fraud.
 * 1)  To cheat or swindle; to commit fraud.
 * 1)  To cheat or swindle; to commit fraud.
 * 1)  To cheat or swindle; to commit fraud.

Translations

 * Czech: šumařit
 * Dutch:
 * Finnish: vinguttaa viulua ; soittaa viulua
 * Hungarian:


 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:, ,
 * Czech: marnit
 * Finnish:, ,
 * French: ,
 * German:
 * Japanese: いじり回す
 * Maori: rāwekeweke, rahurahu, raukoti
 * Occitan: bidolhar
 * Portuguese:
 * Russian: тра́тить вре́мя по́пусту, ,