quarrel

Definition

A dispute or heated argument (especially one that is verbal).

Etymology

From Middle English querele (“altercation, dispute; argument, debate; armed combat; trial by combat; basis for dispute, complaint; claim, legal suit; a lament; illness”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman querele [and other forms] and Middle French querele, querelle (“altercation, dispute; basis for dispute; side in a dispute; complaint; accusation; legal suit; lament; problem”) (modern French querelle), and from their etymon Latin querēla, querella (“dispute; argument; complaint, grievance; legal complaint; lament; illness”), from querī + -ēla, -ella (suffix forming nouns). querī (“to complain; to bewail, lament; to be indignant”) comes from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwes- (“to puff; to sigh”).

Example Sentences

• "We got into a silly quarrel about what food to order."
• "And let a Man bevvare, hovv he keepeth Company, vvith Cholerick and Quarelſome Perſons; for they vvill engage him into their ovvne Quarels."
• "Quarrels would not last long, if the fault was only on one side."