fiddle
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈfɪd(ə)l/
enpr: fĭdʹl
ipa: /ˈfɪdl̩/
ipa: [ˈfɪɾl̩]
rhymes: -ɪdəl
Forms: form: fiddles
Etymology: From Middle English fithele, from Old English *fiþele, from Proto-West Germanic *fiþulā, from Proto-Germanic *fiþulǭ (“fiddle”), of uncertain etymology. Some contest that the Germanic terms are borrowed variations of Late Latin vitula (see viola); 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 troop, Teobaldo, etc.). Cognate with Old High German fidula (German Fiedel), Middle Dutch vedele (Dutch vedel, veel), Old Norse fiðla (Icelandic fiðla, Danish fiddel, Norwegian fela, Swedish fela).
The change from /ðl/ to /dl/ in modern English is regular; compare Bedlam, staddle, swaddle (in brothel, it was prevented; see that entry for discussion).
Senses: examples: text: ...Of harpe & of salteriun. of fiðele & of coriun...
ref: c. 1275, Layamon, Brut, Cotton Caligula A.IX, l. 3490
text: Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard
'Cause Hell's broke loose in Georgia an' the Devil deals the cards...
ref: 1979, Charlie Daniels et al., The Devil Went Down to Georgia:
text: When I play it like this, it's a fiddle; when I play it like that, it's a violin.
glosses: A violin, 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 (see also usage notes below).
examples: text: The fiddle of these early times, however, was the viol and not our modern violin.
ref: 1864, William Sandys et al., The History of the Violin..., page 38:
glosses: Any of various other bowed stringed instruments, particularly those of the violin family when played non-classically.
examples: text: He is first fiddle in the band.
glosses: A violinist, or fiddler, in a band.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
glosses: Something resembling a violin, or fiddle, in shape
A dock (Rumex pulcher) with leaves supposed to resemble the musical instrument.
glosses: Something resembling a violin, or fiddle, in shape
A long pole pulled by a draft animal to drag loose straw, hay, etc.
glosses: Something resembling a violin, or fiddle, in shape
A rack for drying pottery after glazing.
examples: text: You would not have your Son the Fiddle to every jovial Company.
ref: 1693, John Locke, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, page 208:
glosses: A clown; an unserious person entertaining a group.
examples: text: There was some kind of fiddle going on at that company, and several of the directors were arrested.
text: 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.'
ref: 1947 June 22, People, p. 4
text: 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.
ref: 1959 Sept. 4, The Spectator, p. 297
glosses: Unskillful or unartful behavior, particularly when showy and superficially pleasing.
A scam; a fraud or swindle.
examples: text: That parameter setting is just a fiddle to make the lighting look right.
glosses: Unskillful or unartful behavior, particularly when showy and superficially pleasing.
A workaround; a quick and less than perfect solution for some flaw or problem.
examples: text: Most people are quite careful about buying appliances. When looking at TVs for instance you might look for a particular brand, peruse the definition and colors on the screen, and maybe even have a fiddle with the remote.
ref: 1998, Dean Ormandy, Conquering Computers, page 74:
glosses: Unskillful or unartful behavior, particularly when showy and superficially pleasing.
An act of tinkering, playing around, or fidgeting with something.
examples: text: The meal is served on special trays which slot into the arms of airline-type seats of the passenger coaches. The trays have fiddles for each of the plates, cups and glasses, and the crockery is so well-designed that it is seldom any of the contents get spilled.
ref: 1962 September, P. Ransome-Wallis, “The Talgo trains of Spain”, in Modern Railways, page 188:
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: Any rail or device that prevents items from sliding off a table, stove, etc. in rough water.
glosses: An arrest warrant.
glosses: A watchman's rattle.
examples: text: Done at a fiddle.
glosses: A trifling amount.
Derived terms: Apache fiddle
bass fiddle
bull fiddle
face as long as a fiddle
face like a fiddle
face made of a fiddle
fiddleback
fiddleback wood
fiddle beetle
fiddle block
fiddle-boat
fiddle-bow
fiddle-brained
fiddle brake
fiddle-case
fiddlecome
fiddle-come-faddle
fiddledeedee
fiddle-dock
fiddle-drill
fiddle-fabricant
fiddle face
fiddle-faced
fiddle factor
fiddle-faddle
fiddle-fancier
fiddle-fish
fiddle-flanked
fiddle-footed
fiddle-grass
fiddlehead
fiddle-holder
fiddle idol
fiddleist
fiddleleaf
fiddle-lipped
fiddle-lore
fiddle-lover
fiddle-make
fiddle-maker
fiddle-making
fiddlement
fiddleneck
fiddle-pattern
fiddle-patterned
fiddler
fiddler crab
fiddler's money
fiddlery
fiddles
fiddle-scraping
fiddle-shaped
fiddlesome
fiddlestick
fiddlesticks
fiddlestring
fiddlewood
fiddley
fiddle yard
fiddley-did
fiddliness
fiddlist
fiddly
fine as a fiddle
first fiddle
fit as a fiddle
guitar fiddle
hang up one's fiddle
hang up one's fiddle when one comes home
Hardanger fiddle
Hardanger-fiddle
horsehead fiddle
keyed fiddle
lead fiddle
macaroni fiddle
on the fiddle
phonofiddle
play first fiddle
play second fiddle
play someone like a bass fiddle
play someone like a fiddle
play third fiddle
Scotch fiddle
second fiddle
spike fiddle
taro-patch fiddle
there's many a good tune played on an old fiddle
troubadour fiddle
Welsh fiddle
wheel fiddle