Fiddling

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. The act of playing a violin or fiddle ; handling or adjusting something in a restless or aimless way ; something of little importance or value
2. Performing music on a stringed instrument typically held under the chin ; manipulating an object nervously or without purpose ; something considered trivial or unimportant
3. Engaging in violin playing as a musical activity ; making small, often nervous or idle adjustments ; a matter regarded as insignificant or negligible

Etymology: The verb "fiddle" reached English from Old English "fiþele," which descends from a Proto-Germanic word for the instrument itself, so the musical sense is the original one and the idle fidgeting came later as an extension. The instrument's name, in turn, is one of the great unsolved puzzles of Germanic linguistics. Some scholars have proposed that it was borrowed from Late Latin "vitula," the source of "viola," while others argue the Germanic word developed independently. The one thing that rules out a simple borrowing is a sound problem: a change from Latin "t" to Germanic "þ" is considered highly improbable, while the reverse shift is well documented. Within English itself, the word's pronunciation has a regular history. The "th" sound in its early form shifted to "d" in modern English, the same change seen in "Bedlam," "staddle," and "swaddle." That is why the spelling still reads "fiddle" while the older form was "fithele."

Synonyms: playing, tinkering, fidgeting

Antonyms: focused, serious