footle


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms.
Related to footle: footler, Google Maps

foo·tle

 (fo͞ot′l) Informal
intr.v. foo·tled, foo·tling, foo·tles
1. To waste time; trifle.
2. To talk nonsense.
n.
Nonsense; foolishness.

[Probably variant of footer, to screw around, from obsolete fouter, an act of sexual intercourse, from French foutre, to have sexual intercourse, from Latin futuere; see bhau- in Indo-European roots.]

foo′tler n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

footle

(ˈfuːtəl)
vb (intr)
1. (often foll by: around or about) to loiter aimlessly; potter
2. to talk nonsense
n
rare foolishness
[C19: probably from French foutre to copulate with, from Latin futuere]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

foot•le

(ˈfʊt l)

v. -led, -ling,
n. Informal. v.i.
1. to act or talk in a foolish way.
n.
2. nonsense; foolishness.
[1890–95; orig. uncertain]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

footle

, footling - To footle is to talk or act foolishly, from the old verb meaning "bungle"; as an adjective, footle (or footling) refers to something trifling or silly.
See also related terms for silly.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

footle


Past participle: footled
Gerund: footling

Imperative
footle
footle
Present
I footle
you footle
he/she/it footles
we footle
you footle
they footle
Preterite
I footled
you footled
he/she/it footled
we footled
you footled
they footled
Present Continuous
I am footling
you are footling
he/she/it is footling
we are footling
you are footling
they are footling
Present Perfect
I have footled
you have footled
he/she/it has footled
we have footled
you have footled
they have footled
Past Continuous
I was footling
you were footling
he/she/it was footling
we were footling
you were footling
they were footling
Past Perfect
I had footled
you had footled
he/she/it had footled
we had footled
you had footled
they had footled
Future
I will footle
you will footle
he/she/it will footle
we will footle
you will footle
they will footle
Future Perfect
I will have footled
you will have footled
he/she/it will have footled
we will have footled
you will have footled
they will have footled
Future Continuous
I will be footling
you will be footling
he/she/it will be footling
we will be footling
you will be footling
they will be footling
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been footling
you have been footling
he/she/it has been footling
we have been footling
you have been footling
they have been footling
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been footling
you will have been footling
he/she/it will have been footling
we will have been footling
you will have been footling
they will have been footling
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been footling
you had been footling
he/she/it had been footling
we had been footling
you had been footling
they had been footling
Conditional
I would footle
you would footle
he/she/it would footle
we would footle
you would footle
they would footle
Past Conditional
I would have footled
you would have footled
he/she/it would have footled
we would have footled
you would have footled
they would have footled
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.footle - be aboutfootle - be about; "The high school students like to loiter in the Central Square"; "Who is this man that is hanging around the department?"
be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer"
prowl, lurch - loiter about, with no apparent aim
2.footle - act foolishly, as by talking nonsense
behave, act, do - behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

footle

[ˈfuːtl]
A. VT to footle awaymalgastar
B. VI (= waste time) → perder el tiempo; (= act the fool) → hacer el tonto
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

footle

vi to footle about (inf)herumpusseln
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

footle

[ˈfuːtl] vi to footle aboutbighellonare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in periodicals archive ?
We just tootle around, footle around, rootle around and play.
Lewis M, Michels J, Bible J, Jones E, Lange R, Footle D, Brazille J, Crites S, Carroll B.
It does seem to me such--well, such footle." The OED, which defines footle in its verb form as "to talk or act foolishly, to trifle or 'potter,'" gives only three examples of its usage, two of which are from Anstey, who was clearly quite fond of the term.