Stickled

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Objected stubbornly to minor details or insisted on trifles ; acted as a referee or go-between to separate people who were fighting or arguing
2. Fussed insistently over small points of procedure ; served as a mediator or umpire between opposing parties in a quarrel
3. Held firmly to unimportant particulars or rules ; intervened as an arbiter to separate combatants in an old-fashioned way

Etymology: The verb "stickle" has three candidate origins in the source, and only one of them fits the sense of fussing over procedure. The sense of "to order, arrange, direct" comes from Middle English "stightelen," a frequentative of "stight," meaning to order or govern, with the suffix "-le" marking repeated action. That idea of repeatedly directing things lines up with someone who keeps insisting on the proper way of doing something. The sense of acting as a mediator or umpire between quarrelling parties grows from the same root. A person who "stickled" in a dispute was one who arranged or directed the terms between the two sides, so the earlier meaning of ordering and governing carries over into refereeing. The other candidates are less convincing. One links the word to Old English "sticel," meaning a prickle or sting, which gives an image of pricking or irritating. A second links it to "sticel," meaning high or steep, but that sense does not explain the meanings here.

Synonyms: demur, object, scruple, balk, quibble