Quarrel

How to spell quarrel

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce quarrel

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does quarrel mean?

1. nounAn angry argument or disagreement, usually between people who know each other.
2. verbTo have an angry argument or dispute with someone.

Quarrel in a sentence

• noun

  The brothers had a bitter quarrel over their father's will.

• verb

  The neighbours often quarrel about the boundary fence.

• noun

  A petty quarrel about money soured the whole evening.

• verb

  There is no reason to quarrel over such a small bill.

Where does quarrel come from?

Language of origin: French

The word came into English in the early 1300s from the Old French querele, which meant a complaint, a dispute, or a legal accusation. That French word descended directly from the Latin querella (also spelled querela), meaning a complaint or grievance, which was built on the verb queri, 'to complain' or 'to lament'. The earliest English uses kept this flavour of a formal complaint or a cause one fought for, only later narrowing to the modern sense of an angry argument between people. The same queri root sits inside the more bookish English words 'querulous', meaning habitually complaining, and 'plaintive', a cousin through related complaint vocabulary. The single 'r' followed by '-rel' is the usual spelling trap, since the doubled-looking sound tempts writers toward 'quarrell'; remembering the French querele helps fix the lighter ending.

How the word is built

• quer- (from Latin queri: to complain)
• -el (noun/diminutive suffix)