Quarreller

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person characterized by a tendency to provoke disputes and conflicts with others
2. An individual who often initiates arguments and disagreements, contributing to discord in interactions
3. Someone who consistently engages in arguments or disputes with others

Etymology: "Quarreller" is simply "quarrel" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, so it means one who quarrels. The base word "quarrel" has a longer and more surprising past than the suffix does: it descends from Latin "querela," a complaint or lawsuit, and through Old French "querele" it came to English with the sense of a formal grievance or accusation before it settled into the meaning of a fight or dispute. The "-er" ending is one of English's most productive ways of turning a verb into a noun for a person or thing, as in "writer" or "player." Attaching it to "quarrel" produces a word for someone who repeatedly picks fights or disputes, which is the sense the word carries today.

Synonyms: arguer, debater, disputant, bickerer

Antonyms: peacemaker, reconciler, mediator