Does anyone else use the word, 'tifling'? If so, why can't I find it in any dict

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   BlossomSBposted 10 years ago

   Does anyone else use the word, 'tifling'? If so, why can't I find it in any dictionaries?
   
   I wanted to use the word 'tifling' in something I was writing, but it came up underlined, so looked it up in online and hard copy dictionaries and could not find it. Is it a word that just our family uses? It could be a word used by my Cornish grandmother or Old English with the -ling suffix, as in duckling, etc. Does anyone else use this word? Whenever I write it here, it is automatically changed to 'rifling' which has a totally different meaning!

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   Jackie Lynnleyposted 10 years ago

   Hi Blossom. Could the spelling be tiefling? Like to do with art?

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      BlossomSBposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      No. We usually use it if a cotton thread is hanging from a hem.

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   annartposted 10 years ago

   Is it pronounced with a short or long first 'i'?  (tyfling or tiff/ling?)
   It rings a bell in the back of my mind. Does it mean trifling or a little tiff? 
   Cornish or any other local dialect words can be retained by some families whilst others let it die, so that's possible.  Like a Sussex word I use, 'snicket'.  That's not in the dictionary either!
   I'm going to try to find it too! 
   Great question!
   Ann

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      BlossomSBposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, Ann. It's pronounced tyfling.

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   Jodahposted 10 years ago

   Nope Blossom, never heard of it before. Sorry.

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      BlossomSBposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for trying!

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   CrisSpposted 10 years ago

   You mean maybe like a tiefling ranger? I heard it from the girls when they were playing some online games.

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      BlossomSBposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      No. I hadn't heard of that, but it came up when I tried the online dictionary.

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   mbuggiehposted 10 years ago

   I looked the word up.
   
   In old Cornish dialect the word "tifling" means "fraying out" or worn out (as in frayed)...

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      BlossomSBposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Oh, Wow! So it is Cornish! And I'm third generation Australian. Interesting how some words linger. I thought everyone used it! Thank you.

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      mbuggiehposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yep...sort of like me calling the end of the driveway the "pitch". I got that from my grandmother from Loddiswell, Devon, England.

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   The Examiner-1posted 10 years ago

   The first word which I thought of when I saw your question was 'trifling'.
   I tried Googling it and they answered with 'trifling' definition.
   I looked in my online thesaurus and it asked, "Did you mean 'trifling'?"
   I never heard of 'tifling' before and I could not find the meaning.
   
   I even tried 'tifling' in foreign language dictionaries and it asked if I meant trifling.

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      BlossomSBposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      All my sources did that, too. Thank you so much for trying.

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   RTalloniposted 10 years ago

   Never heard this word before.  Does it refer to being irritated? 
   
   If you are writing a story use it, but in a context that gives readers the definition.  If I read it in an article I would probably look for a definition and if I couldn't find one I might dismiss much of what I was reading. 
   
   Words are generally fun stuff and a colloquial word can add a lot to our writing.  Though a reader might have to think about it (which can be useful), defining such words by context is usually crucial to the success of using them. 
   
   Hope you'll tell us what your usage of the word means!  Maybe it will catch on…

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      BlossomSBposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I wanted to use it in a hub, so I left it out in the end, but to me (and my family) it is so meaningful. Thank you for your reply.

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   alancaster149posted 10 years ago

   There's 'trifling', which means  'inconsequential' or 'petty'. Don't know any Cornish dialect (I'm from near the other end of the country towards Scotland, we've got our own versions (aside from 'piddling')

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      BlossomSBposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Well, it is about something trifling, but it's not the same. I had no idea that piddling came from the north of England. I looked it up and it comes from the Norwegian - so it may have been in the language for a long time, probably from the Vikings.

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    RobinClayposted 10 years ago

    A tifling - or is it tiFFling ? - is a small piece of cotton.  Usually used in the plural.  When you are doing any sewing, tifflings are all those little bits of left over thread.  My grandmother needed a bicycle during WW II.  The bike shop had none, so he made up one from his "bits bin", which she christened Tifling.  And, Yes, I have seen a  definition - somewhere.  Rhymes with pifling (or is it piFFling?)  Certainly, a short I as in kit, not a long one as in Like.  She had NO Cornish connection.

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