niggle

Meanings

1. A minor complaint or problem.
2. Small, cramped handwriting.

1. To trifle with; to deceive; to mock.
2. To use, spend, or do in a petty or trifling manner.
3. To dwell too much on minor points or on trifling details.
4. To fidget, fiddle, be restless.
5. To walk with short steps.

Etymology

First attested in 1599. Origin uncertain, but likely borrowed from dialectal Norwegian nigla (“to be stingy, to busy oneself with trifles”), ultimately from Old Norse hnøggr (“stingy; miserly”), related to Old English hnēaw (“stingy; niggardly”). More at niggard.