Link Centre Dictionary

fiddle

UK/ˈfɪd(ə)l/ US/ˈfɪdl̩/ fairly common informal slang uk
noun (1) verb (7)

noun

1.

bowed stringed instrument that is the highest member of the violin family; this instrument has four strings and a hollow body and an unfretted fingerboard and is played with a bow

Synonyms

verb

1.

avoid (one''s assigned duties)

  • “The derelict soldier shirked his duties”
Synonyms
2.

commit fraud and steal from one''s employer

  • “We found out that she had been fiddling for years”
3.

play the violin or fiddle

4.

play on a violin

  • “Zuckerman fiddled that song very nicely”
5.

manipulate manually or in one''s mind or imagination

  • “She played nervously with her wedding ring”
  • “Don”
  • “;”
Synonyms
6.

play around with or alter or falsify, usually secretively or dishonestly

  • “Someone tampered with the documents on my desk”
  • “The reporter fiddle with the facts”
Synonyms
7.

try to fix or mend

  • “Can you tinker with the T.V. set--it”
  • “;”
Synonyms

Origin

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, trousers, 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).

Phrases

  • Apache fiddle
  • bass fiddle
  • bull fiddle
  • face as long as a fiddle
  • face like a fiddle
  • face made of a fiddle
  • fiddle beetle
  • fiddleback wood

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.